The Assistant
by FabulousandDevious
Summary: Set in the human world, Jack skellington is vice mayor of halloween town, but his whole world changes when his new assistant is much more than he bargained for! please review:3
1. Chapter 1

Jack Skellington heard the distant ringing of an alarm clock and begrudgingly left the comfort of slumber.

Raising himself up, he slapped a thin hand on the snooze button and rubbed the crust from his eyes. He took several moments to blink wearily and take in his surroundings.

The same old apartment. The same old dresser. The same old dirty mirror.

Yep. Everything was where it was supposed to be.

Satisfied by his routine inspection, Jack nodded and practically dragged himself out of bed.

Standing to his full height, he bumped his head on the ceiling and cursed as plaster dust rained down. He had always been very tall, and his tiny apartment was not a good accommodation.

Rubbing his short blond hair of any dust, he stretched his long arms and let out a massive yawn. It reverberated around the apartment and reminded him for the thousandth time how strange it was. It was more like a shriek or a scream.

He had once had to apologize to the couple living upstairs for waking their young daughter and making her think there was a monster in the building.

Yes, there was no doubt that Jack was a strange guy. He knew it himself all too well. He was ridiculously tall, which was further pronounced by how incredibly skinny he was. Seriously, no matter how much he ate he just never put on the pounds. His bony face had very black, deep, sunken eyes and a very thin mouth. Coupled with the fact that his skin was incredibly pale, it irritated him to know that he looked like a walking skeleton.

But, there was no changing it. Constant eating never worked and he had sworn to never enter a tanning salon again. Not after... the first time.

Shivering at the horrible memory, Jack shed his pajamas and trotted over to the bathroom door. He ducked his head through the doorway as he walked in and got the water running for his shower.

Now came the most nerve-racking part of his day. Since the entire apartment building shared a water heater, there was no guarantee that he would get a warm shower in the morning. If you were the last person to get up, then you got an ice-cold shower. And if there was anything he hated, it was a cold shower.

He nervously bit his lip and debated his options. Should he just jump right in and hope for the best, or ease himself in and try and get used to it? It was driving him mad.

He decided eventually to just go for it. Bracing himself, he threw open the curtain and jumped into the watery abyss.

Ice-cold.

He could tell it wasn't going to be a promising day.

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After his less-then-pleasant bathing, jack wrapped himself in a towel and made his way over to the closet. Throwing it open, he perused through the wide assortment of outfits he had specially laid out. Jack was especially proud of his sense of fashion, and only a fool would call it something other than impeccable.

He waved a bony finger through the air as he examined each outfit and tapped his chin thoughtfully. He always took special care in choosing his clothes, and quite literally lived by the motto, "dress to impress."

Because if he had to look like a corpse, at least he was a well-dressed one.

Finally choosing a black pinstripe suit with tails and a matching bowtie, he examined himself thoroughly in his customized length mirror. Straightening his tie, he gave himself one last touch.

On his nightstand he kept a very special fragrance, labeled _nightshade_. Jack was very fond of the scent and always gave himself a spritz of it before he left the apartment. He was very well known for the scent and it always announced his presence when he entered a room.

Giving himself two squirts of the perfume, his grooming was complete. Grabbing his keys, he left his apartment and took long strides to the elevator. It was opened for him by an ancient elevator operator who adjusted his glasses and blew dust out of his nose.

"Where to, sir?" the old man wheezed.

"Ground floor, please." Jack said politely.

Even though Jack took the elevator downstairs every day, the old man somehow always forgot about him. It was somewhat frustrating to have to remind him every day, but Jack was used to it.

Getting off at the lobby, Jack gave a quick hello to the landlord and several other tenants before exiting through the front doors. Taking in a deep breath of the crisp morning air, Jack smiled and adjusted his bowtie.

Setting off, he began the days work for his job; vice mayor of Halloween town.

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Jack walked through town with his arms clasped behind his back and surveyed everything before him. The little shops. The restaurants. The little odds and ends that defined Halloween town.

He loved it. He really did. He had lived in the town his whole life and always remembered wanting to work for the town when he got older. He had worked hard to get his position, and it payed off. He got the job he always dreamed of.

However, it had not been an easy road. Many of the people in town didn't like him very much. He assumed it was his appearance, which was scary and gaunt. Children tended to stay away from him. Still, that didn't stop the kids from making up stories that he was actually a zombie.

He didn't blame them, though. He would have done the same thing in their shoes. It was natural and human nature to fear the strange.

That aside, Jack reached the town hall and ascended the marble steps to the grand oak doors. Opening them, he strode inside purposefully.

The security guards who had been lounging about snapped to attention and sweat nervously as he walked by. Only when he disapeared into his office did they all relax and go back to playing cards.

Jack was well known for his habit of locking himself in his office for hours to do paperwork, and did not like to be disturbed. He preferred the company of silence and solitude, and made sure everyone in the town hall knew it. That, of course, did not stop certain individuals from completely disregarding his preferences and bothering him anyway.

The mayor burst into Jack's office and slapped him on the back, hard.

"Jack, my boy! A fine day, is it not?" he exclaimed with a wide grin on his portly face.

Jack's eye twitched from the slap, but he calmed himself. It wasn't that the mayor was a bad guy- far from it, in fact- but he was sometimes... a bit much.

"It certainly is, sir. I was just working on some-"

"Hah! Working! I figured you'd be doing that." the mayor interrupted.

Jack raised an eyebrow but stayed silent.

Like a switch suddenly being flipped,the mayor got a serious look on his face and moved his arms around him in a wide sweeping motion.

"Jack... took a look around you and tell me what you see."

Jack was put off by the odd request but humored him. Letting his eyes sweep around the room, he turned back to the mayor and shrugged.

"Uhm... papers?" he said cautiously.

The mayor got excited and slammed his hand on Jack's desk, making him jump and lean back.

"Exactly, my boy! Papers! Papers everywhere! You've got work coming out the wazoo! It's unethical! I simply cannot allow you to take on this amount of paperwork by yourself, Jack. It can't be good for your health." he said forcefully.

Admittedly, he did take on a rather unorthodox amount of work, but it was hardly anything to get passionate about. He only did it for the benefit of the town. He just had to reassure the mayor that he wasn't straining himself in any way.

"Mister mayor, I can assure you that I am not putting any sort of strain on my-"

"What you need is an assistant, Jack. Someone to lighten your workload."

That was simply ridiculous. Jack was not someone who needed help for anything.

"But sir-"

"No butts, Jack." the mayor interrupted once again. "I'm getting you an assistant, and that's final." he said with a confirming nod of the head.

Jack's eyes widened as he felt his private office life slowly crumbling to ruin.

"Wait, mister mayor, please-"

But it was too late. The mayor had already dashed out of the office and left Jack with his mouth still open in mid complaint..

Shoot. Jack knew that once the mayor had made a decision, no matter how sudden and rash it was, there was no changing it.

groaning and rubbing the bridge of his nose, Jack tried to see the positives of his new situation but couldn't find any. The way he saw it, he was just going to have someone invading his sanctum and messing up the atmosphere of his office.

He could only hope that whoever the eccentric mayor hired wouldn't be as bad as he was expecting them to be.


	2. Chapter 2

It had taken several minutes after the mayor had left for Jack to get back into his zone. Once this was accomplished he could work for hours without stopping for even the shortest break. Save for the occasional sip of tea, he could breeze through stack upon stack of paperwork without batting an eye.

When he was in turbo speed, time seemed to pass faster than normal and before he knew it it was already noon.

Glancing at the clock, he rested his pen and cracked his fingers loudly. He gave his long neck a good twist to get the stiffness out of it. He also stretched his hunched-over back.

Noon was the only time Jack ever stopped during the day. Being a slave to routine, noon was always the time to refill his tea cup. He only took tiny, gradual sips throughout the first six hours of his work day to ensure that his schedule remained solid.

Sure enough, the tea cup was empty.

Grabbing the tea cup and pulling his seat back, he walked over to the door and stopped.

He wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but he swore he could hear a faint humming sound. Curious, he put his ear to the door and listened carefully. This time it was a bit louder, and was surely coming from outside his door. It was almost like the murmuring of many tiny voices.

He pulled the door open with a snap and stepped briskly into the hallway.

_Girls_.

Girls _everywhere_.

Jack gaped at the sheer mass of females that had gathered in the building. There had to be dozens of them. They were of all ages, holding various papers and wearing blouses and skirts. They stretched down the hallway and most likely out the door. They filled up the whole hallway and were murmuring to each other, no doubt the sound that Jack had heard.

As soon as they all noticed his presence, all sound stopped. There was a brief moment of silence while Jack and the girls engaged in a stare down, waiting to see who would act first.

The moment was shattered when one of the girls in front screamed.

She was a twenty-something year old girl who's eyes were wide with fear and was pointing a quivering finger at jack.

"I-it's a g-ghost!" she stammered fearfully.

A ghost? That was a knew one.

Unfortunately, it looked like the hoard of girls was taking the accusation seriously. Some of the girls gave him looks of fear and began to back away. Many girls started murmuring and looked like they wanted to head for the exit.

Uh-oh. He couldn't have them all leaving at once. They might trample each other to death.

No doubt his scary presence and that girl's comment were frightening them. Jack felt a bead of sweat fall down his forehead and raised his hands in an attempt to calm the girls down.

"Girls, please. I'm not-"

Jack would have finished his sentence, but an immense feeling of pressure built up in his lower chest and silenced him. With a start he realized what it was.

But he had to suppress it. If he did it here then he could cause a stampede.

He desperately willed that it would go away, but it was no use. He hadn't moved for the past six hours and it was fighting to escape him.

He felt his jaw tighten and then it happened.

He yawned.

The terrible sound bounced of the walls and every single girl heard it. To the untrained ear, Jack's yawn had the same effect as a lion roaring directly into your face. It was quite literally a weapon of mass destruction.

About half of the girls screamed and ran for the exit, covering their ears. Several others fainted, while several more just started foaming and sank to their knees.

The sound of hundreds of heels slapping the marble floor could be heard a mile away as the girls trampled each other to get out of the building. The mayor, who had been walking up the front steps holding a new megaphone, was knocked over by the army of women that had run screaming through the front doors. His megaphone was crushed underfoot.

When the sound of stampeding women died down, jack took a long look at the empty hall and sighed to himself. Dismissing the whole ordeal, he turned back to his office.

When he noticed a single girl still standing in the hallway.

She was a lot different looking then the other girls. Instead of a white blouse and skirt, she was wearing what looked like a hand stitched sweater. It was definitely too big on her, the sleeves hung past her hands and the neckline hung just under her collar bone. She was also wearing a pair of marker stained jeans, which fit her significantly better then the sweater.

Her face, Jack noticed, was very flushed from being pushed past by all those girls. Her red hair was a mess from being jostled. She was staring at him.

Her eyes, though. Those caught his attention. They were huge, bright, and full of expression. At the moment, they were wide with surprise, probably from hearing his unearthly sound.

Which also begged the question; why hadn't she run away?

Deciding to find out for himself, he called out to her.

"Hey, girl."

she jolted and straightened up. She nervously clasped her hands in front of her.

"Y-yes, sir?"

Hmm. She didn't seem afraid of him. More like anxious. It just got curiouser and curiouser.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"W-well, I'm here for the job, s-sir." she stuttered.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Job?" he said. "what do you mean, 'job'?"

she reached into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled looking piece of paper. She extended it to him with a shaking hand and he took it into his thin hands.

Unfolding it, he realized that it was a flier. He read it quickly.

_WANTED: A new assistant for the Vice-Mayor of Halloween town. Must be female. Must have resume`. Factors taken into consideration for the job will be skill, experience, and ample bust! __3_

Jack crumpled up the flier and growled in annoyance. There was no doubt who the cause of it was.

"Figures..."

When the mayor had said he was getting him an assistant, he hadn't imagined that he would do it _this _way.

He probably had just made a hundred copies and hung them all over town. He hadn't even put any real specifications on the flier. That explained why so many people showed up.

Oh well, he could yell at the mayor later. There was still the matter at hand.

The girl who was still here.

Looking down at her, she gulped nervously and looked away, blushing. He didn't want to be mean, but she certainly didn't look the part for a Vice-Mayor's assistant.

Glancing at her hands, he saw that she was clutching her resume` tightly and shaking a bit.

With a surge of pity, he felt his heart go out to her. After all, he had once been in her shoes when he was first starting in the political world. She at least deserved an interview for being the only one to stick around.

"Alright, girl. Step into my office and we'll start the interview."

Her eyes went wide with disbelief and she let out a gasp.

"R-really? You mean it?"

"Well, you didn't run away. I'd say that earned you a shot." he said smiling a bit.

To his surprise, she suddenly flung her arms around his waist and hugged tightly. She looked up at him with a huge smile and bright eyes.

"Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" she babbled excitedly.

Having not been expecting the overwhelming wave of gratitude, as well as never really being hugged before, Jack was unsure what to do.

He awkwardly patted her shoulder and squirmed a bit.

"Um... yeah. Still, it is just an_ interview_, mind you. I haven't given you the job yet."

"Oh..."

Her smile faded and he immediately regretted making her sad. Though he didn't know her very well yet, he already knew that he didn't want to see her frown. There was something about her that made him want to keep her happy.

Deep down, he could feel his gentlemanly instincts kicking in. he could tell that this girl needed to be protected.

His instincts told him this, and they had never been wrong before.

"Hey, don't worry, okay?" he said as reassuringly as possible. "I'm sure you'll do fine."

she looked up at him with a blush rising to her cheeks.

"Y-you think so?"

He smiled.

"I know so."

she smiled as well and released him. She got a look of determination on her face .

"I'll do my best! Mister... uh..."

she blushed again and helplessly stammered as she tried to remember what the name on the flier had been. Jack chuckled and placed his hands on his hips.

"It's Jack, Jack Skellington." he said extending his hand towards her.

She shook his hand and grinned at him.

"Jack Skellington, huh? That's a pretty cool name, sir. I wish I had a name like yours. I'm a bit jealous."

Jack was surprised. She was the first person to not make a joke about how his name sounded like the word "skeleton".

"Thank you. Why don't we step into my office and start the interview?"

he held open the door and gestured inside. She stepped past him and was about to walk in when she suddenly turned around and beamed. Her face was mere inches from his and she was standing on her tippy toes.

"I'm sally, by the way. Nice to meet'cha!"

without another word, she skipped into the office and left him alone. A bit put off by her close proximity, he adjusted his tie and noticed that his face felt strangely warm. Glancing at a mirror on the opposite wall, he realized that he was blushing.

This was getting interesting.


	3. Chapter 3

_Hello!:3 it's me, the writer! Nice to meet you, anybody who is reading this. So yeah, hi! I haven't really got much to say, except to stay away from drugs, drink plenty of milk, and get plenty of sleep. Oh, and please review what you think of the story so far 'cause I get kinda depressed once I finish a chapter. I'm such a drama queen._

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Jack watched Sally take the seat that was in front of his desk. He chuckled internally as she fidgeted on the chair and then took his place at his own desk.

Pushing aside a few loose papers, he set down two tea cups and saucers. He also put out a small bowl of sugar cubes and a little pitcher of cream. Taking the teapot he had refilled a few minutes ago, he served himself a cup of tea.

He glanced at sally and gestured to the pot.

"Would you care for some tea, sally?"

She glanced at the pot and bit her lip.

"Well... I'm not sure. I haven't really had it before." she answered honestly.

"All the more reason to have some, then." he said as he delicately filled the cup in front of her and dropped in two sugars.

She hesitantly took the cup and raised it to her mouth. She breathed in the enticing aroma before sipping and giving a pleasant hum.

"It's good!" she said as she drank the rest of the cup and placed it in front of him with a smile on her face. "More, please!"

Surprised by her enthusiasm, he refilled her cup. She drank that one just as fast as the first. And then a third. A fourth. A fifth.

Eventually he just handed her the entire pot.

Taking a second watch her drink from the spout of the pot, he cleared his throat and folded his hands.

"Well then... I guess we'll start the interview."

Sally blushed and tore herself away from the teapot, trying to sit as straight as possible. She failed at inconspicuously wiping the tea dripping from her mouth with her sleeve.

Jack decided to ignore it and proceeded.

"Sally, you have your resume` I presume?"

she nodded and pulled it out of her pocket. When she handed it to him their hands lightly brushed each other and Sally's ears reddened slightly.

Jack didn't notice and opened up the folded paper.

It was wrinkled, and torn in several places. Some of the ink that was scrawled on it was smudged and he swore he saw a coffee ring stain on the lower right hand corner.

He knew it wasn't important, but his curiosity got the better of him.

"Sally, may I ask why your resume` is so... weathered?"

She blushed again and nervously pushed her two index fingers together. She refused to meet his eyes.

"Well, the thing is, Mister Skellington... I don't really have a printer. And making copies costs a lot of money... so... that's the only one I have." she said quietly.

Unsure of how to respond, he just gave a simple "oh" and moved on.

Reading through her resume`, he was pleased to find evidence of a strong intellect. She had scored the highest on her SAT's for all of high school, along with winning several awards in writing, mathematics, and science. She had several recommendations from various teachers commending her.

She was born in Halloween town, and had lived there her whole life.

No criminal record.

And more than enough community service.

Her interests, however, were certainly... interesting.

"Cartoons?" he said out loud.

She smiled and nodded.

"I love cartoons! Ever since I was a kid I've always liked getting up early to watch them, spongebob, invader Zim, the powerpuff girls, johnny Bravo-"

She would have kept going, but she saw the look on Jack's face and fell silent. He looked confused, as if she had been speaking in another language.

"S-sorry. I get kinda excited about cartoons. I guess you think I'm pretty childish, huh?" she said embarrassingly.

Jack shook his head.

"No, it's not that. It's just that... I don't really know much about cartoons. I never watched them as a kid."

"You didn't? Why not, Mister Skellington?"

"I mostly watched monster movies and tales from the crypt." he answered.

"That doesn't really surprise me..." Sally whispered under her breath.

"What was that?"

"N-nothing!"

Jack leaned back in his chair and read off some of her other interests.

"Reading."

"Yep. All the time!"

"You enjoy cooking rice?"

"It's cheap, and delicious."

"Studio Ghibli movies."

"Yeah!"

"Something called... yaoi?"

"T-that one's not important. Let's keep going."

"Kittens."

"I wuv them!"

"And... Sherlock Holmes."

"Yes."

Jack studied Sally carefully. She looked like a nice, honest girl. She was smart. She had a very good charm about her. In essence, she was all he could really ask for. He knew for a fact that she was better then any assistant the _mayor_ would have picked for him.

But, there was only one way to determine if she was suitable to work alongside him as his assistant.

Placing the paper down, he leaned forward slightly and folded his hands. He looked her straight in the eyes and took a serious tone.

"Sally... why do you want to work in the town hall?"

She took several moments to think about her answer and then answered him without a single stutter.

"Well... who wouldn't? It's an institution."

Jack slowly smiled.

"Very good. You've got the job."


	4. Chapter 4

Sally recoiled in shock and blinked several times.

"Y-you mean it?" she stammered. "Y-you're serious?"

Jack raised an eyebrow, but there was a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lip.

"I'm always serious, Sally."

Sally's stared at him for a long time. Jack wondered if she had gone paralyzed.

Suddenly, out of no where, she lunged at him.

Wrapping her arms around his torso, she managed to knock over the teapot and push a large stack of papers off the desk. Jack only stiffened as he engaged in another hug with Sally for the second time today.

Boy, she was soft...

wait... soft? What was he doing? He was supposed to be uncomfortable with this situation. But, surprisingly, he actually felt rather pleasant. There was a nice warmth spreading through him.

Jack shook out of the dazed stupor he was in and looked down at Sally.

"Uh... Sally? Let me go please."

Sally gasped and snapped back so fast that she knocked another stack of papers off the desk. Surprisingly, Jack missed the feeling of warmth. That was odd.

Sally blushed in spite of herself and avoided his eyes.

"S-sorry Mister Skellington."

"It's... quite alright." he said slowly. And he meant it, though he was still wondering why hugs were beginning to become a normal thing in his life.

"It's just..." Sally said as she nervously bit her bottom lip, "I really needed this job."

She looked into Jack's eyes with such sincerity and appreciation that it made jack's pulse speed up a bit. She smiled.

"Thank you, Mister Skellington."

Jack marveled as yet another blush reached his face. What was this girl doing to him?

Coughing awkwardly, he resisted rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassed pride and shuffled a few random papers.

"Don't mention it, Sally."

Sally grinned at him again, and Jack couldn't suppress a tiny smile in return. Though they had only just met, it was plain to the both of them that they could get along well and enjoyed each others company. Not all of the awkwardness was out of the way, but they could start to relax around each other.

They were both ready to get started as a new team, with Jack being the commander and Sally being the soldier.

Jack extended his hand to Sally over the desk.

"Sally, I hereby welcome you as a new employee of town hall and my personal assistant. I'm expecting great things from you, so don't let me down."

Sally shook his hand fervently and saluted playfully.

"Yes sir, Mister Skellington!" she said excitedly.

They both stood comfortably for a moment and let the new found partnership wash over them. After several seconds, sally broke the silence.

"So... what now, Mister Skellington?"

Jack tapped his chin thoughtfully and wrinkled his nose. Now that he thought about it, he didn't really know where to start.

"Well... I guess you can help me finish up the paperwork I was doing."

Sally's eyes wandered over his desk and she tilted her head in confusion.

"What paperwork?"

"Oh, it must have gotten knocked onto the floor." he said as he looked at the fallen papers.

His heart suddenly dropped into his stomach when he saw the state they were in. "...Along with the teapot."

The large mass of papers had been reduced to a soggy mess. The tea had fallen right on them and soaked every single piece of work completely. There was no way they could be salvaged.

_Hours_ of work. _Gone_.

Sally's eyes widened and she bent down to look at the ruined work. she winced and turned to Jack, her lip quivering.

"C-can we... can we save them?" she whispered fearfully.

"No. They're beyond salvation." Jack said stoically.

Sally wrung her hands and looked at Jack with moist eyes.

"I d-didn't mean t-"

"I know you didn't mean to, Sally. It's not your fault." Jack groaned as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "But this isn't good. I needed to finish that paperwork by tomorrow. And those weren't just _any_ papers. Those came from over town. We'll have to go out and get copies of every single paper that was ruined."

Sally gulped.

"What happens if we don't get them in time?"

Jack sighed.

"Well, those papers were filled with tax information from the local stores and other businesses in town... all of that information goes through me before it goes to the IRS. If I don't turn them in, _completed_, then the IRS will assume that taxes weren't paid and begin an audit."

"An audit?" Sally questioned.

"Basically, the government will take away the properties that didn't pay their taxes."

Sally covered her mouth with her hand.

"How much time do we have?" she gasped.

Jack pulled a silver pocket watch from his lapel and clicked it open.

"From now until the minute the paperwork is due, we have eighteen hours. We'd better get moving."

Jack pulled his chair back and stood up, walking briskly to the door and throwing it open. Sally scrambled out of her chair and ran to catch up with him. Jack's heels made a loud _click _every time they hit the floor, and the only other accompanying sound was Sally's rapid, quiet footsteps as she struggled to follow.

Jack burst through the front doors and plowed right through the mayor in his earnest. The mayor was sent tumbling down the steps yet again and his new megaphone was smashed to bits on the pavement. Jack didn't notice and kept right on going.

Sally ran out the front doors and stopped to catch her breath. She spied the mayor lying motionless on the ground and wondered if he was alright, but Jack called for her and she had to leave him.

She caught up to Jack and ran to meet his pace.

"Where are we going, Mister Skellington?" she said between breaths.

"The library. It's closest." he said quickly.

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As the pair reached the library, they were both out of breath.

Jack bent over with his hands on his knees and heaved several times. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He offered it to Sally, who accepted the cloth and sneezed into it..

"Sorry." she sniffed as she handed it back to him. "Some dust got into my nose while we were running."

"It's fine... I'll just have my grandmother embroider me a new one."

_That is, if she ever comes back to life_...

Dismissing that afterthought, Jack and Sally walked up to the entrance of the library. Sally, unlike Jack, noticed that it seemed dark inside.

"Um, Mister Skellington?" Sally asked as Jack headed for the door.

"What is it, Sally?" Jack demanded as he neared the door.

"I think the library is-" she said as Jack attempted to push open the door and instead smacked right into it. "... closed."

Sally winced as Jack cursed and rubbed his aching nose. He took a step back and experimentally pushed on the door.

It was locked.

Jack cursed again, making Sally gasp and cover her innocent ears.

"Dammit! The papers I need are in there, but its closed, of all days..." Jack said as he began pacing and tapping his chin.

Sally waited patiently, unsure how to help, as Jack thought hard. He began slowly walking the circumference of the library and Sally trailed behind.

"If we could just find a way inside..."

There were no open windows. No visible ventilation shafts.

Jack briefly considered breaking a window, but he doubted he had the strength for that. And even if he did, he wouldn't. He was no common thief.

Jack mused over his options as Sally followed reverently behind, offering silent support. Jack walked the entire perimeter and came back to the entrance.

"Well, I've got no ideas. We'll be standing here for hours unless I can figure out a way to get us in." Jack sighed.

"You know," Sally said, "had I known we were coming here today, I would have returned the books I borrowed."

Jack stared at Sally and cocked an eyebrow.

"And how, may I ask, would you return your books if the library was_ closed_?" he asked somewhat sarcastically. It was uncharacteristic of him to be sassy, but he was in a bad mood.

Sally's eyebrows knitted and she puffed her cheeks out in annoyance at his sarcasm.

"Well, _sir_," she huffed exasperatingly, "I would have just used the _return_ slot."

Jack frowned and turned to where Sally was pointing.

"Return slot?"

Just to the side of the door, There was a handle sprouting from a metal square on the red bricks. Jack's eyes widened and he sprinted over to the return slot.

Pulling on the handle, a compartment opened towards him. It was similar to the mechanism on a mailbox, whereas you put contents in the compartment, closed it, and then the contents spilled into a container.

Jack's heart dropped. It was much too small for him to crawl into.

_But_...

Jack's head slowly swiveled to look at Sally, who caught on to what he was thinking and began to sweat profusely.

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"Are you sure this is a good idea, Mister Skellington?"

"Of course it is. I'm much too big to fit in there."

Sally was uncomfortably balled-up and inside the return slot, waiting for jack to push in the handle and send her into the library. She looked scared and her eyes nervously darted around.

She had never been a fan of small spaces, and wasn't particularly thrilled at the notion of rolling into the little square of darkness that awaited her.

Jack noticed her discomfort and felt bad for putting her in this position. He tried to empower her for the task ahead.

"Hey... I'm counting on you, okay?" he said quietly.

Sally's eyes fixated on his reassuring expression and it visibly calmed her down. She took a deep breath and gave him a determined look, her bottom lip thrust out and eyes hardened.

"I'm ready."

Jack nodded and slowly pushed the handle in, little by little cutting off sight of Sally. When the slot was fully shut Jack heard a faint tumbling coming from beyond it. This was eventually followed by a muffled _oof_, along with several crashes and an _eep_. There were several moments of silence, then quiet footsteps going farther and farther away.

Jack ran over to the front door and waited with anticipation. His breath hitched when he saw a silhouette coming into view behind the glass.

The door slowly opened to reveal a ruffled looking sally with her hair bun askew and a smirk on her flushed face.

"Too easy." she said smugly as she blew a strand of hair off her face.

She raised her hand for a high-five, which Jack just stared at in confusion.

"... What are you doing?"

"It's... It's a high-five." she said.

"I don't know what that is."

"Didn't you and your friends ever high-five as kids?"

"I didn't have friends. Now c'mon, we've got work to do." he said as he pushed past her and ran into the building.

Sally stood there for a moment with her hand still raised, then sighed and followed him inside.

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The two city hall employees walked through the maze of bookshelves in deafening silence. There was an eeriness lingering over everything, including them.

Jack, of course, was right at home. Sally, however, was getting the chills.

"_You know, normally I love books, but right now they're kinda givin' me the creeps_..." she whispered.

Jack ignored her and kept leading them through the library, trying to locate some kind of office. If the lights were on it might have been easier to navigate the vast archives, but in the dark it was near impossible. Jack kept taking wrong turns and putting back in places they had already been.

"_This is hopeless_." Jack whispered. "_I can hardly see a thing and we're getting nowhere_."

"_Wait_," Sally whispered, "_Is that where the papers might be_?"

she pointed to a door several feet away that Jack hadn't noticed. He jogged over to it and peered through the darkness to read the plaque. It said _employees only_.

Jack tried the door handle, which didn't budge.

"_It's no good_." Jack sighed. "_It's locked_."

"_Hold on_." Sally said as she pulled a paper clip. "_I can pick the lock_."

"_You... you can pick locks_?"

"_Yep. Pretty handy, huh_?" she said smiling and twirling the piece of twisted metal.

"_Yes. It is pretty handy. Which only further makes me wonder AS TO WHY YOU DIDN'T USE IT WHEN WE NEEDED TO GET THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR_." he whispered loudly.

Sally's mouth gaped in realization and she sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck.

"_Oh... I guess I forgot_." she said embarrassingly.

"_YOU FORGOT?_"

"_I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I just_-"

"_No, just... just focus on unlocking the door, okay. Just... do that_." he whispered somewhat angrily.

"_yes, sir_." Sally whimpered.

Jack felt a bit bad for scolding her, but she needed to learn from her mistakes. He wasn't going to allow things like forgetfulness to get in the way of work.

Sally pushed the twisted paper clip into the keyhole and jostled it around a few times. Several clicks were heard and the door swung open.

Entering the dark office, Jack looked around trying to find what he was looking for. Spying a file cabinet in the far corner, he rushed over to it.

Pulling it open and sifting through the contents, he found what he was looking for and gave himself a mental pat on the back.

Turning to Sally, he raised the papers in success.

"_Alright, we've got them. Let's get going_." he said triumphantly.

He was about to leave when he noticed that Sally's head was hung low and her hands were gripped tightly in front of her. She looked up at him with moist eyes.

"_Mister Skellington, I- I really am sorry for forgetting. It's just that sometimes things escape my mind and I don't mean for it to happen, but it does and I don't want you to think less of me because-_"

Jack halted her by raising a hand. He sighed.

"_Sally, it's okay. I'm sorry I lost my temper. I don't think any less of you for forgetting. In fact, many people in this situation wouldn't have gotten as far as we did. And we only got this far because of __**you**__. You've already proven your usefulness and I wouldn't have wanted to be here with anyone else_."

Sally blinked in surprise and then blushed profusely.

"_Y-you really think so_?" she whispered.

Jack smiled.

"_I'm sure I've said this before, but... I know so_."

Sally smiled back at him and pumped her fist into the air.

"_Alright, then. Let's go, I'll lead the way_!" she exclaimed as she marched out of the office with her fist held high.

"_Careful, you it's dark and there might be a_-" Jack whispered as Sally bumped into a large bookshelf and landed on her butt.

She moaned and rubbed her sore behind as the bookshelf began to wobble dangerously. Jack ran to her and helped her to her feet. They stared in horror as the monstrous shelf began teetering more and more violently. Jack turned to Sally and shouted as books began to rain down on them.

"I TOLD YOU TO BE CAREFUL!"

"I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T SEE-"

"FORGET IT, JUST RUN!"

They both began screaming as a shower of literature poured down. They sprinted for the door as the rest of the bookshelves began falling like dominoes. Several times they had to pull the other out of the way to avoid being smacked by a book or being crushed by a shelf.

They saw the door dead ahead and put in one last burst of speed to reach it before the last bookcase tilted over to flatten them. They dove through it and hit the ground rolling, coming to a stop on the grass.

They both lay on their backs breathing heavily as a cloud of dust wafted from the inside of the dark library. After several seconds the door snapped shut, cutting off the cloud of dust and erasing all evidence that they had ever been there.

Jack looked at the library and groaned.

"I can _never_ go in there again without feeling guilty." he to know one in particular.

"At least we got the papers, Mister Skellington." Sally said trying comfort him.

Jack glanced at the paperwork clutched tightly in his hand and gave a small smile.

"Yeah, we did." he said as he got up.

Sally followed suit and brushed herself off. They were both covered in dust, which was fine for Sally because her clothes just looked awful to begin with, but Jack's suit was certainly a mess.

"Sorry about the suit, Mister Skellington. You can take the cleaning bill out of my paycheck, if you want." Sally said sadly.

Jack just chuckled and shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. It was just a suit, and I have plenty more. We're both safe, and that's all that matters." he reassured her.

Sally smiled in respect and admiration for her new boss. Though he was an awkward, creepy, slightly uptight social reject, he was slowly growing on her. Jack was equally proud of his new assistant. In a situation she hadn't been prepared for, she had come through and made good use of herself, following orders without question. She had messed up, but no one was perfect on the first day. She had done well regardless.

"Don't relax yet, Sally. We've still got work to do. Next on our list is the bar on Slimy Green Corner."

Sally arched her eyebrows and smiled as she saluted Jack.

"Aye-aye, sir!"


	5. Chapter 5

"You know," Sally said between breaths, "I've never actually been to a bar. This is kind of exciting."

Jack glanced at Sally as they ran down the street, heading for Slimy green corner.

"I'm not surprised. If you've only started drinking_ tea_ today, then I couldn't imagine you ever consuming any kind of alcohol."

Sally looked up at Jack with curious eyes.

"What does alcohol taste like, Mister Skellington?"

Jack made a face and shivered in disgust.

"I've only had one drink in my entire life, and it tasted like bitter regret and tears. F that's not important. We're here."

They both came to a stop in front of a street sign that spelled out their destination.

Sally looked around her and shuddered slightly. Slimy green corner was the seediest, darkest, most dirty part of town. The only people that hung around it were drug dealers and perverts.

Sally glanced up at Jack and took small comfort in the fact that he was the scariest person around. At least she had someone who could protect her.

She scooted a bit closer to him.

Jack looked around and spied the bar he was looking for. It was an old, ramshackle building with boarded up windows and a sign missing several letters.

The sign would have read _Gordie's_, had all the letters been there. However, the _g_, _o_, _r_, and_ s_ had all fallen off, leaving only the word _die_.

"I'm almost more afraid of the cliche` then I am of the bar..." Sally whispered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing sir."

Jack raised an eyebrow at her but dismissed her comment and turned to the doors. They were the kind of doors you saw in old western movies, the kind that swung and didn't have handles. He took a deep breath and adjusted his tie, then pushed the doors open confidently and strutted in.

As soon as he entered the threshold all noise ceased. Every patron turned to look at him as he stood there and surveyed everyone. There was heavy smoke in the air from about a thousand cigarettes, and in the back round a jukebox played classic tunes.

There was an intense silence for several seconds as the drunks, fighters, and sleazebags stared down the well dressed, groomed gentleman that was Jack Skellington.

Jack narrowed his eyes and wrinkled his nose at the dirty drinkers and stench of alcohol.

He gave it a few more seconds for the dramatic silence to soak in, then opened his mouth to address everybody.

"I'm looking for-"

he was cut off by a screech coming from behind him.

He turned just as Sally fell through the swinging doors and face-planted the ground. She lay there for a bit and then pushed herself up with her hands.

"Owww... I didn't think they would open so quickly..." she said painfully.

The entire bar roared in laughter as Jack helped Sally to her feet. He turned back to the patrons to try and be intimidating again, but the moment was ruined. All the drinkers had gone back to their rowdy partying and were completely ignoring him.

Jack sighed and walked over to the bar.

The bartender was a huge, stocky man that was wearing an apron. He had a large scar on his head, as if he had been chopped by a meat cleaver. His eyes were going in two separate directions and his tongue was sticking out the side of his mouth.

Jack waved him over and spoke loudly over the din of noise.

"I need to speak with the owner, is she in?"

The large man scratched his head and pointed towards a door near the back.

"She's ovah there, mistah skinny-man." he said loudly.

Jack nodded in thanks and turned to Sally.

"I'll be right back. you can wait right here, and I'll be back in a minute."

Sally didn't want him to leave her alone, but she just swallowed her complaint and nodded. Jack gave her one last reassuring look before jogging over to the door and going inside.

Sally turned back to the bartender and gulped. He was staring at her intently. She nervously cleared her throat and placed her fingers on the counter.

"Um... you wouldn't happen to have any tea, would you?"

The bartender's eyes widened and he smiled.

"I like bunnies." he said proudly.

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Jack stepped into a dimly lit office with the windows covered by blinds. There was a faint trail of smoke drifting lazily through the air. He looked around until his eyes fell on a desk with a large chair behind it.

The back of the chair was turned to him, but he could see a hand sticking out holding a cigarette.

"Ahem, excuse me, miss?" he said.

The chair swiveled to face him and he had to hold in a gag.

The woman he saw was, without a doubt, the most ugly creature he had ever laid eyes upon. She was wearing a tight fitting green dress that made her look like a tied up pork roast. Her skin was extremely dry and cracked, making it look like she had scales.

She was wearing far too much makeup, which included seaweed-green lipstick, black eyeshadow, and about four pounds of concealer. Her hair was black and dry, with green highlights, and stuck out of her head in certain places like fins.

She looked like a large fish person.

She looked him up and down while taking a drag of her cigarette and smirked.

"Well, hello handsome. What can I do for you?" she said seductively.

Jack grimaced slightly and swallowed the bile in his throat.

"I'm... I'm from town hall. There was a complication and I need to recollect tax papers, miss... uh..."

"Just call me Joan. Joan... whatever your last name is." she purred as she got up to saunter towards him.

Jack took a good step back and began to sweat nervously.

_Oh god, what have I gotten myself into?_

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Sally casually sipped her pint of tea through a curly straw while her new friend, the bartender, drew pictures of bunnies beside her.

She was constantly looking around, taking everything in. it was such a new experience for her to be in a place like this. Yesterday she never would have imagined that she would be on such an exciting adventure.

And it was all thanks to Jack. She smiled into her pint and giggled as she imagined where they would be going next. If things continued the way they did, it would probably be somewhere just as fun as where they had already gone.

Jack... boy was he a mystery. He was so strange and out of place, but also a true gentleman and sort of charming, in his own unique way. The way he took charge, lead flawlessly, acted so mature...

Sally sighed. It was really no wonder she admired him. After all, he was everything that she _wasn't_.

_Oh well. At least I can drink away my self pity_ she thought as she took a large swig of her tea. She finished it with a smack of her lips and plopped the glass on the counter.

"Keep 'em coming, Lenny. It's gonna be a long day."

Lenny ran off to make some more tea while Sally sifted through his drawings and admired his artistic skill in bunnies. As she was waiting for him to return she suddenly heard a loud noise coming from outside. It sounded like the roaring of a great beast, and it was followed by several more but significantly quieter roars.

Sally peered out the window to see an enormous motorcycle, sporting an equally enormous man, stop in front of the bar. About a dozen other motorcycles stopped next to him and they all dismounted.

Sally saw the look on the leader's face and new that there was going to be trouble.

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Jack had been fully backed against the door and was standing stiff as a board as Joan the fish woman let her unkempt fingernails dance across his arm.

It took all his willpower not to bolt, and he tried to hold in his lunch as much as possible.

"Miss Joan, please, the papers..." he hissed desperately.

"Hmmm..." she cooed in his ear, "You really want them? Alright. Wait _right _here."

Jack let out the breath he was holding when Joan finally released him and swayed over to a filing cabinet near her desk. She bent down and slowly opened the drawer as if teasing him.

When she finally located the paperwork she she brought it over to him with a smile. She handed it to him while taking another hit at her cigarette.

"There ya go, hon. I suppose that's all you came for?" she said.

"Yes. Thank you." Jack said, trying to finish things as quickly as possible.

He turned to leave but couldn't escape one last input from Joan.

"And hon, if you ever happen to be in the neighborhood," she said as she placed a hand on his butt and squeezed, "come visit me. I'll treat you_ real _well."

Jack squeaked audibly and left Joan laughing as he near sprinted out the door.

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Sally sat shivering in her chair as the biker and his gang entered the bar.

The largest one, as far as she could tell, was the leader. His eyes were dark and his mouth was wide, permanently twisted into an evil grin. He had on a mucus colored leather jacked and black leather boots. He also had a strange helmet. Instead of the traditional dome design, it was pointed like a cone and drooped downwards.

His gang members were wearing similar outfits, with the exception of three teenagers that wore their own unique outfits and hung around him like little flies.

The bar got quiet again, but unlike with Jack and Sally the noise didn't really start up again.

Sally tried to look as small as possible. There was something about the new patron that just put fear in her. She kept her head down and tried to control the shaking of her own hands.

"What in the world is she drinking?"

"That don't look like beer!"

"She some kinda prude?"

Sally froze as three voices suddenly hit her ears. Turning up slightly, she saw that the three teens were all standing around her with wicked grins on their faces.

"What are you drinking, ugly?" the first boy said.

"W-what?" she responded nervously.

"We wanna know what you're drinking, stupid. That's what he said." the second boy said.

"I wouldn't bother asking her." the last one, a girl said with a smirk. "she's probably too stupid to answer you two boneheads anyway."

"Who you callin' bonehead?" the first one said angrily.

"I'm callin' _you _a bonehead, bonehead."

"Shut up!"

"Make me!"

"Lock! Shock! Barrel! Quit bothering the lady." the biker leader boomed over their squabbling.

Sally was almost grateful to the scary biker man until she saw the devious look on his face.

"... After all, that's _my_ job." he growled dangerously as he stomped over to Sally.

Sally remained frozen as the biker sat down in the seat next to her and looked her up and down. She wanted to cover herself away from his greedy eyes, but her limbs were immobile.

The biker finished his analysis and smirked.

"Well, howdy little lady. What is a fine little thing like you doing in a place like this?"

She swallowed and struggled to talk.

"... Work." she said quietly.

The scary man scooted closer and draped his uninvited arm over her shoulder. He smiled a lecherous smile and Sally could feel the stench of his breath on her neck.

"Well what a coincidence. I'm here on business myself. I tour the state on my motorcycle and do stunts in little towns like this." he said as if she would be impressed.

Sally did her best to squirm out of his grip, but his arm was like iron. When he felt her struggle he only held tighter. And if possible, his smile got wider.

"Now hold on, little lady. Where do you think you're going? We're having such a nice conversation." he said into her ear.

Sally began to panic and began thrashing as violently as possible. She somehow found the courage to shout.

"L-let me go!"

The biker narrowed his eyes.

"Alright." he said slowly, and then smugly. "Right after you give me a little kiss."

As he puckered his lips and moved towards her Sally's eyes widened in terror and she used all of her strength to fight him. Unfortunately, he trapped her arms at her sides and she couldn't hit him. Nobody helped her, and she was too afraid to call out. She shut her eyes in the hopes that she could forget easier if she didn't see her first kiss being stolen. As the biker's face draw closer, all she could do was pray.

_Somebody, please help me..._

Sally suddenly heard a cracking sound and opened her eyes just in time to see Jack's foot connect with the biker's jaw.

The biker's eyes widened in surprise and pain before the force of the kick sent him flying through the air and hitting one of the tables. Jack carefully lowered his raised foot as he dusted his hands and observed the gang run to their fallen boss.

Sally was about to thank Jack when he suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders and looked at her with intense eyes.

"Are you alright? Did he do anything to you?!" he said fearfully.

"N-no. You came just in time." she said blushing.

Jack let out a sigh of relief and straightened up, adjusting his tie.

"Good. Now don't move, this will only take a second."

Sally nodded as Jack walked over to the biker's groaning form and looked down with disgust evident in his face.

"Hello, _Oogie_."

Oogie Boogie looked at Jack with pure fury and stood up to stare him down. His minions gathered around the two of them like a pack of hyenas and began hurling obscenities at Jack. Boogie smiled.

"You've _really_ messed up this time, Jack. My gang has tripled in size since I was last in town. And believe me, I have a big grudge against you."

Jack smirked right back at him.

"Hiding behind your cronies while they attack me? I always knew you were a coward, Boogie, but this is just ridiculous."

Boogie's smile melted away and he bared his teeth like a furious dog.

"Get him!" he snarled to his pack.

"Do fight me all at once, if I fight you all individually I won't even get enough exercise for the day." Jack said calmly.

Sally watched in awe as Jack fought like a demon from hell. He was so fast she could hardly keep track of his movements. He rolled and punched, dodged and parried.

He had them all moaning and bleeding on the floor in less then four minutes. He didn't have a single scratch on him, except for a few tears in his clothes.

Boogie's eyes widened in amazement and fear, and he began backing towards the doors.

"Y-you're not human!" he stuttered.

Jack glared at him and motioned a thumb out the door.

"Scram."

Boogie didn't need telling twice. He scrambled out the door and got on his motorcycle. His minions peeled themselves off the floor and ran to catch up with him, nursing their aching limbs and tendons. Gradually they all got on their motorcycles and revved them up. The roar of their engines started up and then eventually died down as the gang drove as far away as they could get.

Jack watched them go and then turned to Sally. He had somewhat expected her to be apprehensive of him, considering he had just annihilated an entire gang with his bare hands, but she seemed surprisingly happy.

She got off her stool and trotted over to him, giving him a look of admiration and awe.

"Mister Skellington, you were so cool! Where did you learn to _do_ that?"

Having_ not _been expecting that response, Jack was totally thrown off.

"Uh... I'm a black belt in judo. I trained for several years because I was being bullied and wanted it to stop."

Jack shook his head. _Woah. Where did that come from? I've never told anyone about that._

Sally beamed.

"You're my hero, Mister Skellington. I would have been in big trouble if it wasn't for you."

Jack blushed at her praise and stood there, unsure what to do. Then he remembered something and raised his hand in front of her. Sally looked at it in confusion and then at him.

"What are you doing, Mister Skellington?" she said confusedly.

"It's... it's the 'high five', is it not?" he said hesitantly.

Sally stared for a moment and then grinned widely. She jumped up and slapped his hand with her own and ran out of the bar whooping and hollering.

"Alright! Let's go Mister Skellington, we've still got work to do! I can't wait!" she shouted to him.

Jack stood there and slowly lowered his hand, which was stinging and red. Though he hadn't been expecting the high five to involve the two of them slapping their palms, he would be lying if he said it didn't feel oddly... satisfying.

Smiling at his hand, he turned and ran out the door.

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_ Hee hee hee, it's getting good! I can feel some more wacky adventures bubbling in my veins! Oh, wait. That could be cholesterol. _


	6. Chapter 6

Jack and Sally came to a stop in front of the biggest department store in Halloween town.

Sally gasped and took it in. she turned to Jack with an expression of awe on her face.

"Wow... we're going in _here_?" she said amazed.

Jack nodded and crossed his arms in confusion.

"Why the amazement? Haven't you ever been in there before?"

Sally shook her head, no, before turning back to the extravagant store with a sad look.

"I've... never really had the money to shop in a place like this. I usually do a lot of patchwork."

She looked down at her Frankenstein sweater and pulled at it despondently. Jack could see the sadness and shame in her eyes and knew he had to do something.

"You know, Sally... I think your skills in sewing are quite remarkable. You'll have to make me something when Christmas rolls around." he said.

Sally blushed at his appraisal and fisted her sweater in shock.

"R-really? I-I'd love to, Mister Skellington..."

Jack turned away to hide his tiny smile and walked towards the automatic doors.

"Alright then, let's get that paperwork."

"Yes, sir!" Sally called as she stuck her hands in her pockets and jogged to catch up.

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The both stepped into the main floor and Sally had to double take.

There were more clothes than she had seen in her entire life. The entire place was polished to a perfect shine. There was an actual _fountain_ spitting water into a pool filled with silver dollars. _Silver dollars_.

Sally's eyes widened about as a far as they could.

Jack looked with amusement at Sally's expressions. It was almost cute to see her so excited over something like a department store. He found himself giggling slightly as her eyes constantly found something new to gawk at.

Eventually Sally realized that she had been gaping at everything for quite a while and closed her mouth. She hesitantly glanced at Jack's smiling face with embarrassment.

"S-sorry. It's just..."

Jack stopped her with putting a hand on her shoulder and smiling humorously.

"Tell you what." he said. "While I try and find the manager, would you like to look around some more?"

Sally began bouncing excitedly.

"Oh, can I, Mister Skellington?"

"Go ahead."

Sally smiled at him and then ran off with her arms spread, going "wheeeee..." as she disappeared from sight.

Jack shook his head and chuckled, before walking off.

_Now if I was a manager, where would I be?_ He thought to himself.

Spying an employee several feet away, he raised his arm to get her attention and walked towards her. She seemed to see him, but abruptly turned around and began walking in the other direction. That was certainly odd.

"Wait, miss, please..." he called out.

But it was already too late. She turned a corner and vanished.

Jack curiously scratched his head and looked around to see where she had gone.

_How strange... _

Jack dismissed it and began walking towards the _men's _section of the store. While looking around for another employee he spotted one lounging against a mirror. As soon as he started walking towards him, however, the same thing happened. He just got up and _left_.

Jack frowned. Something was going on here and he didn't like it.

This time when he was looking he stayed hidden behind some racks of clothes and observed carefully. He quickly located an employee standing a few sections away. However, he didn't try to approach him. He just watched silently.

An old woman, maybe sixty years old, approached the employee looking like she wanted to ask him something. Just like Jack had seen before, the employee saw her and then made himself scarce.

The woman looked confused for a second and then wandered off.

_So it's not just me... I need to do some more research_. He thought determinedly as he ran off.

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` Sally drooled with longing over a fuzzy pair of socks.

_ They look so warm and cozy, but they're so expensive_... she thought depressingly.

Slowly putting them back, she continued browsing through the store, finding things that made her jump for joy and then sink with sadness when she saw much they cost.

_Ohhh, why does everything have to cost money?_ she thought angrily.

Sighing to herself, she kept going through the aisles of nice, non patchwork clothes.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spied a mannequin that was sporting a woman's suit.

She walked over to it and stared intently. It was a three piece suit, a jacket, a blouse, and a skirt. The blouse was pure white, and the jacket and skirt were white with black pinstripes. The jacket itself resembled jack's in shape. It had tails just like his did. There was also a little ribbon worn around the neck with a black stone set in the middle.

_Wow... I would look so cool in that_. She thought.

A blush surfaced when another thought came to mind.

_ And Jack might like it too_...

There was no longer any doubt in her mind that she was attracted to Jack. He was a strong, commanding, intelligent person. Nice, in his own way, and compassionate, when he needed to be.

And not that she'd ever say it out loud, but he could_ kick some major ass_.

In the first few hours that she had gotten to know him, not much had been said... and it didn't need to be. As far as Sally knew, Jack spoke more with his actions than his words. And from what she had seen, he was a true gentleman.

She didn't need to know more about him, or his past, or any secrets he might have, his ambitions, his fears, his hopes, his desires... she was slowly but surely falling in love with a man she barely knew. The biggest wonder she had about him was if he felt the same way.

She shook her head to get rid of the idea. No man, much less_ Jack_, could ever see her in that way. She was always a hopeless romantic and had never been in a relationship. Jack was so mature and had probably much more experience than she did. Who was she to think that he would fall in love with her as fast as she did? She was just too plain. She was too chilidish. It was foolish to believe that someone as incredible as Jack could ever view her as something more than an assistant... besides, the suit was too expensive anyway.

_ Still, if someone had seen me in that suit walking with Jack, they probably would have thought we were a couple_...

Sally stood there and giggled as her little fantasies played out in her mind, red in the face. She was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't notice the person slowly coming up behind her. Even when they were inches away Sally did not notice.

"Can I help you with anything, ma'am?" the employee said.

Sally gave a little yelp and spun around in surprise to face the employee. She was still blushing and panting a bit as the employee just kept a plastered smile and stared forward creepily.

Sally relaxed a bit and carefully swallowed.

"Um... no thank you, I'm just looking." she said.

The employee, still smiling, tilted his head at an odd angle and gave her a thumbs up.

"Alright then, take care! And enjoy your shopping day here at the happy-go-lucky department store, where the customer is always right, even if they're wrong!"

He stared forward blankly for a few more seconds then turned around mechanically and walked off briskly.

_That was... creepy_. She thought.

Turning back to stare at the mannequin, she tried to relocate her fantasies and soon enough was giggling as she daydreamed of Jack.

She once again had to tear herself away from fantasyland when another voice spoke behind her.

"Can I help you find anything today, ma'am?" a girl said.

Sally turned with a hint of annoyance to an employee with a similar smile and posture as the first one.

"No. I'm just looking, thanks."

"Alright then, take care! And enjoy your shopping day here at the happy-go-lucky department store, where the customer is always right, even if they're wrong!"

She left quickly and Sally watched her go in confusion. Not five seconds later yet another employee popped up next to her.

"Can I help you find something, ma'am?" he said with the familiar smile.

_ What is going on?_

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Jack dove behind a t-shirt display and peered over it, trying to find an employee.

Over by a jeans section, Jack noticed a man sifting though the pants. To his surprise, an employee _walked_ up to the man and began talking. The man sent the employee away and Jack tapped his chin thoughtfully.

So... the employees of the store only approached those who don't need their assistance. That was both interesting and irritating at the same time.

So the question was; how was he going to talk to one of them? Where would he be able to find one?

He suddenly gasped as someone came to mind.

_Sally_.

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Jack ran through the store trying to find his assistant, but she was nowhere in sight. Cupping his hands to his mouth, he began calling out to her.

"Sally? Sally, where are you?"

Across the store, he heard a faint voice.

"Mister Skellington! Help!"

Jack felt his heart pick up and he ran towards the voice. He wove through various aisles and finally found Sally, or, at least her arm.

It was sticking out of a huge crowd of employees surrounding her. She was waving feebly as the surge of people crowded around and kept talking over each other.

"Can I help you with anything?"

"Need some help there?"

"Finding everything you need?"

Jack stared in awe for a second before calling out to her again.

"Sally! What happened?"

"I don't know!" she shouted. "It started with just a few but then the number just got bigger and bigger! What do I do?"

"Don't worry! I know what to do!" he said.

Walking up to the ginormous crowd, he cleared his thought and spoke over every muttering voice.

"Excuse me, but I have an item that I would like to return!"

Every employee froze and all talking stopped. Then, just as fast, they all scurried in different directions like a pack of lizards.

"T-thanks Mister Skellington!" Sally said shakily.

"No time for that!" Jack said, grabbing her hand. "c'mon, we've got to catch one of them!"

Sally didn't ask questions and ran alongside Jack, as they followed the retreating employees. One by one the employees disappeared into the cracks. Eventually Jack and Sally were left pursuing one last guy.

"It's no use." Jack huffed as they sprinted after him. "We can't catch up, and we're losing speed."

Sally tried to think of a solution and came to one quickly.

"Mister Skellington, quick, throw me!"

Jack looked at her, flabbergasted.

"What? Are you crazy?" he said.

"Just do it!" she said quickly.

Jack contemplated for a second and bit his lip.

"Are you sure?"

"No. But we're losing him fast."

She was right. The distance between them and the employee was growing every second. Jack swallowed and sighed.

"Alright. Hold up you arms, please." he said.

Sally obeyed and he picked her up as he ran, carefully locking his arms into position.

He blushed at the feeling of Sally's soft form and cleared his throat.

"A-are you ready?"

Luckily Jack couldn't see Sally's face, which was about a thousand times more red than his was.

"Y-yes. Do it!"

Jack leaned back and then snapped forward with all his strength, letting Sally go and sending her through the air.

As she neared the fleeing employee, she instinctively let out a primal screech that announced her presence and made the employee slow down and turn for a second.

Sally caught him around the neck and sent them both careening into a display of belts. The entire display collapsed around them, burying the two under a mountain of leather and alligator skin.

Jack rushed over and called into the pile.

"Sally? Sally are you alright?" he said, fearing she had gotten hurt.

There was a moment of silence, then a shifting under the mass of belts. Jack was about to start digging when Sally carefully squirmed out of the pile, dragging the employee with her.

She plopped him, arms and legs bound by belts, in front of Jack with a smile and a salute.

"I got him, sir!"

Jack stared at the man struggling to escape his bindings and then grinned at Sally. He laughed and high-fived her.

"Good job, Sally. You're really something else." he said warmly.

Sally blushed and sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck, but couldn't keep a bashful smile off her face.

"Aw, shucks Mister Skellington. It was nothing."

Jack chuckled and then turned his attention to the employee trying to inchworm his way out of the aisle. Jack grabbed him by the shirt and lifted him off the ground and spoke in a threatening voice.

"Now then. I'd like to speak to your _manager_."

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"Again, I'm _very_ sorry for all the trouble you've been caused."

They were in the manager's office, talking to the manager, a small little man who had been apologizing for the past five minutes.

"Think nothing of it. I'm just glad we were able to get the paperwork we needed." Jack reassured him.

"It's that corporate training that makes those employees into machines. I'm actually amazed you managed to catch one and find me." the manager said.

"I couldn't have done it without my trusted assistant." he said, turning to a blushing Sally.

The manager chuckled and winked at sally.

"And as a courtesy of the store, we'll just forget about the display case that got destroyed."

Sally laughed nervously and rubbed her neck.

"Anyway, we've got to get going. There are still places we need to go." Jack said, standing up.

Sally stood up with him and the manager waved goodbye as they exited his office. Walking to the front doors, they swished open and Jack and Sally walked into the parking lot. They both stood silently until Sally turned to her boss and spoke quietly.

"...Mister Skellington?"

"...Yes?"

"Do you think we should tell the manager that the employee we caught is still tied up?"

"I'm sure they'll find him... eventually."

Sally nodded in agreement and they ran off to their next destination.


	7. Chapter 7

Jack and Sally reached the next stop on their list in record time.

After she was done taking strangled breaths, Sally looked at the sign with half-lidded eyes and they instantly shot open when she saw where they were. She gave a squeal of delight.

"The arcade! Yes! I love arcades!" she said as Jack watched her dance around.

Jack tried not to focus on her hypnotic swaying.

"W-why do you like them so much?" he managed to get out.

Sally stopped her little celebration and stared at the dark building with what looked like nostalgia. A light smile graced her face.

"When I was a kid... my family didn't have much money. But at the arcade, games were just twenty-five cents a pop. I could stay for hours with only five bucks in my pocket."

In that moment, Jack could have sworn that Sally was a child again. Bright eyed, excited, about to enter her favorite place as a child. It almost made him feel like he was trespassing on something private, a precious memory for only her to have.

And yet... he _did_ want to be here with her. Regardless of the job. He wanted to be apart of someone else's fond memories. He wanted... he wanted someone to remember him as a _friend_.

Sally, no matter the fact they had only known each other for a short time, was his only real friend. If that at all.

"If you want... we can come back here once the job is finished." he said quietly.

Sally stared in shock and then grinned.

"If we do, don't be too heartbroken when I kick your butt at video games." she said teasingly.

Jack chuckled.

"Is that any way to talk to your boss?" he said humorously.

Sally realized his point and sweated nervously. She laughed anxiously and wrung her hands.

"Heh... sorry sir."

"I'm just joking with you. Of course you would kick my butt. I don't think I've ever even _played_ a video game." he said honestly.

"Really?" sally said, amazed. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get in there!"

Sally pumped her fist in excitement and ran through the tinted glass doors. Jack sighed at the sheer amount of energy she had stored in that tiny body and ran after her.

"Remember, we're not here to play games. We're _working_."

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The pair walked into a brightly lit room, with gaming consoles against the walls and a small prize stand where tickets were cashed. The floor was made of yellow and red tiles, and the walls had drawings of various video game characters painted on them.

There was a sticky soda machine pushed into a corner.

A rusty token exchanger was in the center of everything.

Even though the room was not very large, it was full of kids.

Sally turned in a circle around her, taking everything in with her arms spread. There was a big smile on her face.

"I remember this!" she said excitedly. "This is the kids corner! It's full of kid-friendly games for pree-teens and children. I used to come in here all the time 'cause I wasn't old enough to go into Gamer Central."

"Gamer central?" Jack questioned.

"Well, the games in this room aren't very fun. If you really want to have a good time though, you go to where legends are born. You see that doorway over there?" Sally said, pointing to a door on one of the walls that had a neon sign over it reading _Gamer Central_. "That's where all the good games are. The real violent ones with virtual aliens and 3D effects so intense they could make your eyeballs vomit."

"Oh... how... charming." Jack said blanching slightly.

Sally nodded and crossed her arms.

"In Gamer Central, there is legitimate competing. You don't just play for fun in there, you play to _win_. I've only heard stories, but the word was that certain games had special prizes if you could beat the high score. Kids from different cities came all the time to try and claim a prize."

"What kind of prizes?" Jack asked curiously.

"All sorts of things." Sally said knowingly. "One kid got a gift card that entitled him to free arcade visits for life. Another kid won some sort of go-cart. I think one kid even got himself a pair of samurai swords. I've only heard this through ear, though."

Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Through ear? You've never actually seen any of this?"

"I've never been inside." Sally said.

"Why not?"

"You have to be fifteen or older to go in there. I would have gone in there on my fifteenth birthday, but I had managed to save up to buy a gamecube by then. So I never really got to see it."

She almost looked sad, staring at the door with a clear curiosity that was desperate to be sated. Jack glanced around Kids Corner and smiled.

"Well, Sally, it looks like your dream is going to come true. I don't see any back office in this room, which means..."

He waited patiently while it slowly dawned on Sally what he meant.

"... We'll have to go into Gamer Central to find it!" she finished excitedly.

"I'll let you lead the way." Jack said with a smile.

She jumped for joy and jogged over to the door. She rubbed her hands together and reached for the handle. Sally was about to push through the door when a kid suddenly ran over and called out to her.

"Wait! Miss, please wait!" the young boy said.

Sally looked irritated that her moment of truth was being interrupted and turned to the boy with an annoyed scowl.

"What?" she snarled.

The boy, as well as Jack, gulped at her surprising viciousness. The boy nervously twisted his foot and meekly took a step back.

"W-well miss, I don't think it's in your best interest to go in there."

"Believe me, kid. My _only_ interest right now is to go in there." Sally said.

"Yes. We really do need to enter, young man." Jack said patiently. "Why should we not?"

The boy stuck his hands in his pockets and looked down angrily. He directed his voice at the door, as if belligerent towards it, when he spoke.

"'Cause... that _jerk_ is in there!" he said.

Sally's gaze softened a bit and she bent down to his eye level.

"Jerk?" she questioned.

The boy nodded and crossed his arms, sticking out his lower lip.

"Yeah, _Ethan_. He's about the most stuck-up, arrogant, meanest person on the planet. He sucks. But he has control over all of Gamer Central. He has a huge gang of cronies at his side at all times and monopolizes all of the games, and he'll only let you play if you give him a tribute every month."

"Tribute?" Jack asked.

"One twelve-pack of mountain dew and a pair of lace panties. Unless you can afford the mountain dew and know someone to steal the panties from, it's a useless effort to go in. he'll just kick you out." the kid said sadly.

"Wait." Sally said, now interested. "This kid has been bullying all of you and you haven't complained to management? Just tell them what he's doing and they'll stop it."

The kid hung his head and shook it forlornly.

"We can't, miss."

"Why not?" Sally said exasperatingly.

"Because, Ethan _is_ the management."

Jack scratched his head in confusion.

"What? What are you talking about?"

The boy sighed.

"Listen closely, because I'm about to tell you a story."

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So it turned out that Ethan was the technical owner of the arcade.

About a year ago, the previous owner had announced his retirement and said that the Arcade was going under new management. However, there was a twist. The store wasn't going to be sold, it was going to be _won_.

The owner said that before he left, he would hold a tournament. It was centered around the oldest machine in the arcade, a game called _Planet Hopper_. He said that it was the first game he had ever put in the arcade and that he, himself, held the highest score on it.

So he proposed that the person who could beat his high score would win the deed to the arcade. He said that it would be the greatest prize to win.

Everyone tried. Everyone failed. Adults attempted to beat it, as did children. Young and old, big and small, everyone who frequented the arcade tried their best.

Some got far, and others didn't. Many got extremely close to beating it, but none ever quite made it.

Until Ethan showed up.

And he beat it. He did it on his first try. Just like that, the store was his. And as the boy explained, he used it to take over and cut out the kids that came for some video games and fun. He only let the ones who could afford his tribute into Gamer Central.

"I can't believe it." Sally said angrily. "That little jerk is a totalitarian! What about all the kids that want to go into Central but don't have money? It isn't fair!"

"I know it isn't, miss. But there's nothing we can do about it. If we complain to him, he can just kick us out."

Jack agreed with him. Ethan deserved a good beating for using his power to control others.

Jack had sworn to never abuse his status when he entered the world of politics. His sense of justice also caused him to loathe those who rubbed their privileges in people's faces just because they _could_.

And on a different day, he might have done something about the situation in the arcade. But, they were running out of time. They only had time for getting paperwork, not sorting out diplomatic issues.

"Well, young man, we would love to help you... but I'm afraid we just don't have time. But, one day soon we'll come back and try and sort out this conundrum, right Sally?" he said, turning to Sally.

Sally was clenching her fists and the veins on her neck were standing up. He face was incredibly red and she was shaking in anger.

"S-Sally?" Jack asked hesitantly.

Sally's teeth clenched and she turned to the door with obvious intent.

"I'm going to _cream_ that little punk." she whispered dangerously as she shoved the door open and stormed inside.

Jack had a bad feeling and ran after her, fearing the worst.

"Sally, don't do anything rash!" he called out as he too disappeared into the darkness of Gamer Central.

The young boy stared at the slowly closing door and shook his head despondently.

"Poor fools." he said as the door closed with an ominous boom.

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All around, the sound of bleeps and bloops filled the air. Flashing neon lights flickered in random patterns from various screens spread all around. Kids of all ages ran through the blackness to different screens and the sounds of virtual reality rang through the air.

` Sally didn't notice any of it. She was too buy fuming and looking for Ethan.

As she walked, she remembered all those awful times when she was a kid. All the people that called her _poor_. All those jerks that made fun of her for not wearing new clothes. All the restaurants she never got to go into. Those moments when she could hear people laughing behind her back.

She had always been looked down upon. Always pushed around. Because she didn't have _money_.

This had been the one place where she was safe. Where everyone knew everyone and no one was judged. Some kids brought a twenty dollar bill and others only had a single dollar to spend. It didn't matter, nobody cared.

And now her sanctuary was being invaded. By everything she despised. And it only fueled her anger as she kept thinking about it.

Yes... the only thing on her mind was finding Ethan and teaching him a lesson.

Sally didn't slow down as Jack ran to catch up to her. He was out of breath from trying to find her in the dark enclosure.

"Sally, what are you doing?" he said between puffs of air.

"I'm bringing justice, mister Skellington. Follow my lead."

As they continued through the realm of darkness, curious heads turned to look at them in confusion. Though it was unclear at first, Jack slowly came to realize that the kids weren't paying attention to him at all, all eyes were on Sally.

He could her faint whisperings of "Whoa it's a girl" and "She's kinda hot" as they walked.

Tch. Bunch of hormone-driven losers.

Sally did not slow in pace until they reached the dead center of Game central.

There was a big clearing on the blue carpet to accommodate for what was in the middle. About a thousand boxes of mountain dew were stacked up like a pyramid, and at the top was a beaten looking red armchair. On the chair was about a hundred pairs of panties, acting as a second cushion.

Around the caffeinated and perverted throne a bunch of teenagers milled around, chatting amongst themselves and drinking soda. Most of them had their own little piles of ladies underwear to recline on.

And the top piece was the kid sitting on the armchair with a burger king crown on his head. He was fat, and pale, wearing a striped shirt. His feet barely hung off the armchair, proving how short he was. He had a mean look on his chubby face, with a permanent scowl deep set into his features.

He looked bored at the moment, swinging his feet and absentmindedly squeezing a pimple on his chin. For whatever reason, that made Sally even angrier.

She planted herself in front of the soda throne and pointed at Ethan.

"Hey, you!" she shouted to him.

He ceased his pimple popping and looked down at her from his throne. His brows furrowed at the sight of a girl in the arcade and he spoke in his mid-puberty voice as loud as possible.

"How dare you speak to the king in such a rude way! You shall treat me with respect, when you are in my presence. What are you doing here? What do you want?" he said angrily.

The sound of their outbursts alerted the mass of kids in the Center. Word traveled fast and soon everyone was concentrated in the throne room, in a circle around Sally, Jack, Ethan, and his cronies.

"I want..." Sally said dramatically, "... To challenge you to a game of _Planet Hopper_!"

A collective gasp went through the crowd and all heads turned to gauge Ethan's reaction. To everyone's surprise, he started laughing.

"Bwa ha ha ha! Idiot girl! Do you actually think you could possibly beat me at that game? Are you mental?" he said as the crowd of kids began cruelly laughing with him.

Sally spoke in a very sweet, sarcastic tone.

"Oh... you don't think I can win?" she said mockingly.

He smiled deviously.

"I _know_ you can't win, girl."

Sally growled in annoyance. She only liked it when Jack said things like that. It was charming when he did it.

But no matter. Her plan was still in effect.

"Alright then, how about we make a bet? We'll decide the stakes for whichever one of us wins or loses."

Ethan smiled wider and leaned forward.

"Interesting. What happens if I lose this game?"

"you hand over the deed to the arcade." she said bluntly.

Another gasp went through the crowd. Ethan looked uncomfortable, but he didn't flinch. She saw a bead of sweat roll down his forehead.

"Alright, whatever. But if _I _win, then you have to give me your panties."

Sally was surprised. That wasn't so bad, actually. Certainly not as bad as she had thought it would be.

Ethan's mouth curled into a devilish grin.

"... _After_ you take them off in front of everyone." he said smugly.

Sally, as well as Jack, turned beat red as the crowd let out a chorus of cheers and hollers. Sally fought to keep the tremble out of her voice and responded.

"Fine! I accept!" she said determinedly.

Ethan threw back his head in laughter and stood up from his throne, walking down the steps of mountain dew with a confident swagger. He cracked his knuckles and walked over to face Sally's angry gaze.

"I can't wait to see what kind of panties you're wearing, girl." he said lecherously.

"W-wait! Hold on! This is going too far!" Jack said, trying to reason with everyone. "Look, we're from town hall and we're collecting paperwork, so if we could just see the office-"

"Too bad!" Ethan interrupted. "Since your friend was so rude to me, you won't be getting anything. She dared to challenge me and there is no going back."

"I figured that would be the case." Jack muttered sadly as Sally and Ethan walked away.

They both came over to the Planet Hopper machine and the crowd followed them. They stood in front of the old system and faced each other. One of Ethan's cronies plugged it in and the screen flickered on.

On the screen the scoreboard was displayed and the name _Ethan_ was displayed at the top with the highest score.

"I'll be going first, since I'm the king." he said snidely.

Sally just frowned and stepped back so Ethan could press start.

Right away, Jack could tell that this kid wasn't just talk. He was blasting through the levels with incredible speed, without getting any damage. Jack watched Sally's reactions, anxious to see if she was intimidated, but her face was a blank slate.

After about twenty minutes of nonstop game play, Ethan turned to the crowd and took a phony bow. The scoreboard now had a different score at the top, and a murmur of amazement went through the crowd.

"Unbelievable..."

"He got an even higher score than last time!"

"That girl doesn't stand a chance."

Jack too was worried for Sally. After all, she was up against a pro. Did she really have even a chance of winning? Sally still wasn't showing any emotions and Jack had no idea what she was thinking. Was she afraid? Inspired? Regretful?

Ethan turned to Sally with an exaggerated gesture and motioned to the machine.

"All yours."

Sally cracked her neck as a bunch of snickers came from the crowd. A bunch of insults were thrown her way as she walked over to the console. Jack felt sorry for her and was about to silence the kids when Sally suddenly hit start before anyone was ready.

In a total of seven seconds, Sally had already beaten the first level.

Total silence spread through the crowd as Sally turned to the mass, her hands still working the controls and moving the character expertly through the levels. She smiled innocently.

"Oh, did I forget to mention that I had the version of Planet Hopper on Game cube? I've also played it three consecutive hours a day for the past seven years."

Everyone stared in shock as Sally laughed and went back to playing. Ethan looked like he was about to explode in anger, and Jack was beaming with pride. How could he have possibly doubted her? He should have know better that Sally could be this clever.

He watched in aw as she blasted through countless levels and her score steadily rose. Her hands moved so rapidly he could barely see them. Her face was staring at the screen in complete concentration.

Looking over at Ethan,he looked worried. It was becoming more and more apparent that he was going to lose. This was further driven by the fact the kids were beginning to cheer her on, shouting out support.

Ethan chewed his thumb in frustration and turned to his gang of lackeys.

"Dammit... she's going to beat me. I have no choice, go mess her up!"

His goons nodded and stomped over to Sally, who didn't even notice their presence and kept right on playing.

Just as one of them was about to grab her, Jack jumped through the air and landed perfectly between Sally and the troupe. He smiled creepily and pointed menacingly at the leading lackey.

"Oh, my... you weren't thinking of_ cheating_,wereyou?" he said mockingly.

The leader took a tentative step back, but raised his shaking fists.

"W-whatever, man! Just get out of the way, or we'll beat you up, too!"

Jack raised his leg up to it's full height threateningly and narrowed his eyes.

"I'd love to see you try. And by the way, I'm not above kicking kids. Especially annoying ones."

As Sally continued raising her score, she could hear the sound of fighting going on in the back round. Doing her best to drown it out, she kept on playing.

She was getting tired, though. Her hands were numb and her eyes hurt. She knew she was so close to winning though, she could almost taste it.

As she neared the finish, Sally kept hearing _loser_ and _worthless_ reverberate through her mind. All of them, teasing her. Mocking her. Making her feel like garbage. She hated them, but were they right? Did she ever have any hope of winning?

What if she lost? She would have to go through total humiliation in front of Jack. She didn't want that. She wanted his respect. She wanted him to believe in her abilities.

But s she kept thinking she just felt more and more inadequate. She should just give up before she embarrassed herself. She could already feel herself slipping. It was only a matter of time before she lost.

She turned away from the screen and lifted her hands slightly from the controls. She was about to let go when she caught sight of Jack, ankle deep in fallen bodies, panting heavily. He saw that she was looking at him and smiled. He gave her a thumbs-up and mouthed the words _you can do it_ over the sound of the uproarious crowd.

And that was all she needed.

Snapping her attention back to the game, she squeezed the controls with renewed vigor. She knew that the end was approaching soon. The cheers of the crowd grew louder to cover up Ethan's screams, Jack shouted support, and Sally became one with the game.

There it was! The final point she needed! It was close in sight, she was approaching it fast, and she grabbed it. Her score clicked up a single point, putting her final score above Ethan's and declaring her the winner.

The kids went mad with applause as she turned from the game and took several deep breaths. Jack ran over to her and gave her a high-five. Sally smiled and hugged him tightly, shaking with pent-up nervousness.

"You did it, Sally. You won." he said with pride.

"Yeah... I did, didn't I?" she said quietly.

A high pitched wail cut through the sound of cheers and the crowd parted to reveal Ethan on the floor, on his hands and knees, throwing a tantrum.

Sally's face turned cold and she strolled over to the fallen kid.

"Well well well. If it isn't our little _king_. I hope you've got that deed ready for me."

He glared up at her and spat on her shoes.

If Sally was angry before, now she was _furious_. In the next minute that followed, she did several things to him so horrific that I find myself unable to write them down. Suffice to say, it was not pleasant.

After he had been reduced to a shivering, foaming shell, she held out her hand expectantly.

"Let's try that again. Give me the deed."

He reached a shaking hand into his pocket and pulled it out. She snatched it from his hand and placed her foot on him, addressing everyone.

"One last thing. From now on, I want everyone addressing me as the queen, her highness, or mistress, got it?" she said threateningly.

All the kids, along with Jack, who had been watching in horror snapped to attention.

"Yes, my Queen!" they shouted in unison.

She turned to Jack and he stared at her in awe and admiration. She blushed slightly under his gaze and cleared her throat.

"Alright, now that we've cleared that up we can get the paperwork."

Jack nodded and smiled as Sally marched off with her head held high, eventually following her.

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Jack and Sally stood outside the arcade as the sun was beginning to set.

Sally had long since calmed down from her overdose of royalty and was embarrassingly twisting her hair. She refused to meet Jack's eyes.

"I can't believed I acted like that in there... I was so _mean_..."

"Don't worry about it. You actually looked pretty cool." Jack teased.

"Ohh, don't say that! I was a total bitch! I don't usually act like that, but I just felt so-"

"Like I said, don't worry about it. By the way, what did you do with the deed?" he asked.

"I gave it to that kid we met at the entrance. I think he had a pretty good idea about how the arcade should be won, so I'm not worried." she said.

"Are you sure?" Jack said delicately. "You loved that arcade. Owning it might more of a fun job than working for me."

Sally chuckled and smiled at Jack.

"It was tempting, but I think I'm having more fun being by your side. So I'd like to continue being your assistant, if that's alright."

"You're not going t hear any complaints from me." he said happily.

"Let's get going, then. The sun is setting and we're running out of time."

She turned and began walking up the street, but Jack stayed slightly behind, staring at her retreating back. He smiled as a light blush graced his face and he whispered so that she couldn't hear him.

"As you wish, my queen."

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_ Heh heh! Sorry about the wait. It took me forever to write this chapter because I had to keep revising it because everytime I wrote something it just didn't seem good. Well, here's what I came up with. I hope you like it, because my fingers hurt like a motherfucker._


	8. Chapter 8

_ Me: Heh heh heh! Sorry about that hiatus! I was really busy and couldn't write, but here It is! Chapter 8!_

_ Followers: *cracks knuckles*_

_ Me: wait... no- nooooo!_

_ Followers: *Do exactly what Sally did to Ethan to me*_

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As they approached the outskirts of town, the sun began sinking lower and lower in the sky. The clouds turned a lovely orange and red as the true colors of autumn became more pronounced.

Sally turned to Jack as they ran along the street, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

"Why are we running out of town, sir?"

Jack wiped his sweat as well and huffed out an answer.

"Our last stop is the pumpkin patch. It's on the very edge of the town where the field is located."

Sally just nodded and didn't say another word. Their last stop... it was almost crazy that their crazy adventure was pretty much over. Though the day had been both terrifying and exciting at the same time, she was disappointed that it was going to end.

Instead of speaking she picked up the pace and they soon found themselves at a sign that said _You are now leaving Halloween town_.

She gulped nervously and followed Jack into the vastness of the outside world.

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It took them quite a while, but they finally reached the gates of a vast orchard. Sally could see a farmhouse and several apple trees, as well as the pumpkin patch.

Halloween town was famous for it's pumpkins. They were state renowned and in high demand, and there was only one place in Halloween town that grew them. The farm of the three brothers.

That was where Jack and Sally were, at the moment.

Jack pushed open the gate and the two of them cautiously walked across the dead grass. The sound of crunching leaves and the faint whoosh of the wind was all that could be heard. Sally, having never been to the pumpkin patch, looked around with curiosity.

The pumpkin patch was vast beyond belief. It had to stretch for miles, and seemed to never end. Rows and rows of orange pumpkins of all sizes grew on leafy stems. Every so often a scarecrow jutted out of the ground, complete with a carved pumpkin for a head.

Sally giggled at some of the faces on the scarecrows and noticed Jack looking out with amusement as well.

"I used to come here every Halloween." Jack said nostalgically. "I used to enter state competitions for pumpkin carving, and I stubbornly refused to use any pumpkins other than the ones that grew here."

"You were a champion pumpkin carver? Kind of a weird hobby, but this is you we're talking about..." Sally muttered.

Jack ignored her second comment and folded his arms as he surveyed the massive crop of pumpkins.

"Yeah... they used to call me 'the pumpkin king', of all things. I told them not to, but you get a reputation and it sticks."

Sally laughed and kept calling him "pumpkin" as they walked up the farmhouse and knocked on the door. They waited patiently for about a minute, but no sound was heard. Jack knocked again, louder this time, and once again they waited.

Nothing. Jack tapped his foot in annoyance and growled impatiently.

"I hope we don't have to break into somewhere twice in one day..." Sally muttered.

"Same here. We don't even have a return slot this time, so we would have to break the window..." Jack said.

That thought was halted when a noise came from the other side of the door. There were several clicks, as if bolts were being unhatched, and then a loud snatch as the handle slowly turned.

The man who opened the door was odd. He was hunched over and very pale, with gray hair and black eyes. He was wearing what looked like an undertakers outfit and a top hat.

His eyes roamed over Jack and Sally and his wide mouth curled into a creepy smile.

"Hello! Welcome to the farm of three brothers! I am terribly sorry, but the orchard is closed at the moment, and all tours for the day have ceased-"

"We're not here for a tour, sir." Jack said briskly. "We are from town hall and need to speak with the person in charge."

The man's eyes widened and he stepped back to usher the two of the in.

"Oh! That would be me! Please, come in. it's not often that we get such important visitors..." he said flatteringly.

Jack nodded and motioned for Sally to follow him in. they stepped into the threshold and took in their surroundings.

For starters, there were pumpkins. A lot of them. Everywhere.

There were pumpkin themed decorations, pictures of prize pumpkins on the walls, pumpkin plushies on little tables, pumpkin patterned table cloths, and Sally was pretty sure that pumpkin scented candles were burning in pumpkin shaped candle holders.

Sally was a bit shocked by the sheer amount of _pumpkin_ that was before her eyes, as was Jack.

"May I take your coat, madam?" the creepy pumpkin man said politely.

Sally looked down at her sweater and looked back at the man confusedly.

"I'm not wearing one."

He seemed genuinely confused that the thing she was wearing was not a fur coat of any kind and sweated nervously.

"Oh... well, never mind. Let's take a seat in the living room."

They all walked through the house, stepping over various kinds of pumpkin merchandise and eventually came to a tiny little room with pumpkin shaped beanbag chairs around a pumpkin shaped table.

Sally immediately squealed for joy and plopped right down on one of the beanbag chairs. Jack looked more wary and tried to sit down slowly, but found it almost impossible as he kept sinking. Sally tried to hold in her laughter as Jack struggled to sit up straight and look dignified while squirming around in a squishy sack of bean pellets.

"Well, you two get comfortable and I'll bring out some nibbles and refreshments." the creepy man said.

He disappeared and Jack and Sally were left alone.

Sally watched as Jack unhappily decided to just flop back into his chair like Sally.

"This is so distasteful..." he muttered from the depths of the soft chair.

"Have an open mind, mister Skellington. At least it's comfy."

"I would sit on a sharpened spike as long as I could look respectful while doing it. Comfort be damned." he said frustratingly.

Sally sighed at her snobbish boss and sank deeper into the cushion of her chair. Now that she thought about it, this was actually the first time they had rested all day. It was nice to finally relax a bit.

Sally felt her eyes flutter shut as she felt sleep began to creep into her mind.

Her moment of peace was shattered as the creepy man materialized out of nowhere and slammed a tray of assorted goods on the table.

Sally snorted and sat up, blinking the sleep from her eyes. Jack looked at her and she blushed, cursing herself for making such an unlady-like sound in his presence.

To distract herself from the embarrassment, she grabbed the nearest thing on the tray and stuffed it into her mouth. She began chewing rapidly and didn't meet Jack's eyes.

"Um, young lady, that isn't food. That's a Styrofoam cup..."

Sally spat out the pieces of cup in disgust and coughed up several more she had already swallowed. Jack patted her back to help her and she gasped for breath and strangled out a "thank you".

The man coughed awkwardly and Sally raised her eyes to look at him.

To her shock, he was smaller then the last time she had seen him. At first Sally thought that she must be seeing things, but the change was too obvious not to notice. He was at least two feet shorter, and his clothes still fir him perfectly. Sally was too blown away to say anything. She turned to Jack, and looked about as amazed as her.

"Now miss, I am glad that you are eager to eat, but please look before you grab." he said sternly.

Sally and Jack just nodded numbly.

"Well then, please dig in. we have pumpkin cakes, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin tarts, pumpkin tea, oh, and do try the pumpkin..."

He rattled off several other pumpkin flavored treats and then sat down in his own chair. Jack and Sally looked at each other in confusion and silently agreed to just forget about it for the moment.

Sally tucked into the tea and cakes while Jack turned to the man and addressed him importantly.

"We are in a bit of a hurry, sir. We're recollecting tax papers that were unfortunately destroyed."

"That is unfortunate. But I'm afraid I don't know where those papers might be." he said.

Jack felt his heart sink. "Are you sure you don't know? Is there anyway you can find out?"

The man tapped rubbed his chin in thought and stuck out his bottom lip.

"Well... there might be someone who knows. Wait here."

Jack tried to protest that they needed to hurry, but the man was already gone. He rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. He glanced out the window and the sun was already setting, meaning they had very little time indeed. This may be there last stop, but they still needed to fill out all the paperwork itself and submit it in time. Sally looked at him sympathetically as she crammed more cakes into her mouth.

She swallowed loudly and drank about four cups of pumpkin tea before she patted Jack on the shoulder.

"It'll be alright, Mister Skellington. We'll make it in time."

He looked at Sally's determined eyes and smiled. That was exactly what he needed to hear.

"You're right. We will." he said warmly.

Sally blushed and nervously stuffed another foam cup into her mouth.

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After another round of retching and hacking up pieces of foam, the man finally returned.

Looking away from Sally's unpleasant form, Jack was hit with another shock when he saw the man.

Once again, he was smaller. By at least two feet. Sally looked up as well and nearly gasped out loud. How in the world was he shrinking?

"How... how are you doing that?" Jack managed to get out.

The man raised a tiny eyebrow and placed his tiny hands on his tiny hips.

"What are you talking about?" he squeaked.

"How is it that you keep getting... shorter?"

He seemed offended by Jack's remark and stomped his little foot angrily.

"Short? Are you calling me short? How dare you!"

"Well, you were almost as tall as me when you answered the door..." Jack muttered. Sally nodded in agreement.

"I've always been this height! I'll have you know that I am the normal height for a healthy eight year-old! Dummy! Jerk! Idiot!" he shrieked as he began waving his fists.

"There's no need to get insulting. I'm just being honest. You've shrunk."

His little face grew very red and he began screaming while jumping up and down like a frustrated child. Jack and Sally tried to calm him down, but it was no use.

From somewhere in the house, footsteps could be heard approaching them. As they looked to the doorway, the man stepped in. only, he was back to normal size.

Jack and Sally's eyes tore from the tiny man to the normal sized man several times as they struggled to put the pieces together. Jack found himself totally confused and Sally looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole.

"Wha-... how? I don't...?" Jack stammered.

To make matters worse, the man appeared again. This time, in medium size form, right behind the first. They both looked at Jack and Sally, then to the tiny man throwing a tantrum. Two identical looks of anger appeared on their faces.

"What are you doing to our brother?!" they said in unison.

Wait a minute... brother?

_The farm of three brothers_... the pieces slowly came into place in Jack's head, and Sally connected the dots as well. Jack sweated and wrung his hands in front of the other two brothers.

"Wait, please, there's been a misunderstanding..."

"They insulted me, brothers! They made fun of my height!" the tiny one complained loudly.

Sally tried to shush him, but it was too late. The bigger brothers looked even more furious and took a menacing step forward. It was the tallest one that spoke.

"Insult? In our own home? Town hall officials or not, I want you out of our house!" he said angrily.

Sally's eyes widened and she took a pleading step forward.

"What about the papers?" she implored.

His eyes narrowed and he smiled deviously.

"You have the nerve to bring nuisance into our home and then ask for something? Fine then. Come with me."

To Jack and Sally's confusion, he seemed almost happy to help and they warily followed him outside. The other two also smiled, as if they knew what their brother was doing and couldn't wait to see it. Jack and Sally gulped and let the eldest brother lead the way.

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_Boy... I'm seeing so many things I never thought I would see, all in one day..._

_S_ally, along with Jack and the three brothers, were standing at the entrance of a giant maze. It extended outwards for about half a mile on each side of the opening, and was about ten feet tall. The hedges were extremely thick and made of black leaves, and it was impossible to see what lay beyond.

Turning to Jack and Sally, the eldest brother smirked and gestured to the ominous maze before them.

"Alright, here you go." he said.

Jack blinked and looked around, trying to understand the situation.

"What are you talking about? I thought you were taking us to the papers."

"I did." he said pointing to the maze. "They're in there, at the center, in a shack. Have fun finding them."

Sally gasped and looked at the maze fearfully.

"Y-you want us to find the center of the maze? But that could take hours, or even days!"

The elder laughed. "I was _going_ to show you the way, because my brothers and I have the whole maze memorized. But since you decided to insult us, you can find it on your own. And don't bother trying to just go straight through, those hedges are as thick as steel."

Jack winced and growled, but said nothing as the laughing trio walked away. Before they disappeared back into the farmhouse, the tiny one turned around one last time to stick out his tongue.

Sally stuck out her tongue right back at him and added a "Nyaaahhh!" for effect. The tiny one just ignored her and went into the house, leaving Jack and Sally alone.

Sally huffed in annoyance but then became worried when she saw how crushed Jack looked.

"...Mister Skellington?" she said quietly.

"It... it's no use... we can't do this." Jack said sadly.

Sally felt her heart drop as Jack, her idol, seemed to be giving up.

"D-don't say that! Of course we can! C'mon, let's get going."

She grabbed his arm gently and pulled him into the maze. The first obstacle they came to was a fork in the path, with no obvious signs of which way they should go. Sally contemplated which way to go while Jack just stood silently with a sad look on his face.

"Alright, which way should we go?"

"Sally..." Jack said depressingly.

Sally ignored his protests and continued talking to herself.

"I guess we should stick to the left wall, like they say in the books."

She grabbed his hand and dragged him with her as they ran through the hedges, making all sorts of strange turns and often finding themselves in places that looked similar to ones they had been before. They walked for an unknown amount of time through the darkness, never resting. Every so often Jack would try to talk some sense into Sally.

Sally tried to ignore Jack's protests and kept on going.

"Sally, please stop."

"Just a little bit farther. I think we're getting closer. Come on, we can make it in time!" she said desperately.

"Sally, give it up. It's already too late." he said stopping in place, causing Sally to continue pulling his arm fruitlessly.

She dropped his arm and stomped angrily, but there was sadness in her eyes.

"Are just giving up? After all we've done? You're just going to sit here?!" she shouted.

He looked at her sadly and sat down with his back against the wall. "Sally, we've been at it for hours. It has to be something like one o'clock by now, and those papers are due at six sharp tomorrow morning. Just give it up."

She shook her head angrily and stared at the ground.

"No, I won't give up!"

He sighed.

"Sally... I'm sorry. I never wanted it to end like this. I'm going to be fired for this... but I might be able to convince them to let you stay. This is all my fault... your first day has been such a disaster because of my incompetence. I'm sorry I've let you down. I'm a failure as a mentor and a boss."

Sally looked like she was about to cry. Her lower lip trembled and her eyes became moist.

"Stop..." she whispered.

"Sally, forget the papers. We've lost."

"Stop it." she said more forcefully.

"I'm truly sorry... that in the end I was just useless."

"SHUT UP!" she finally screamed.

To Jack's shock, she suddenly lunged forward and grabbed him by the shirt collar. Before her resolve could weaken, she braced herself and kissed him.

Immediately an electric shock went through his body that spread from his fingers to his toes. His whole body went stiff and his eyes shot open fully, staring at Sally's tomato red face. Her eyes were closed as tightly as possible and she was shaking slightly.

Nobody moved.

Eventually, Sally gently pulled away and cautiously opened her eyes to stare at Jack. At that point he was as red as she was and was struggling to breath properly. They both took several seconds to accept the first kiss both parties had ever received.

Sally looked like she was about to explode from embarrassment, but she tried to sound as powerful as possible.

"T-there, are you ready to listen now?"

Jack nodded.

"You are_ not_ a failure as a boss. You are the opposite of that. I have never admired anyone as much as I admire you, and you are everything I aspire to be. Don't you dare say that this is your fault. Haven't we been in this together, from the beginning?" she said loudly. "Don't forget, _I'm_ the one who spilled the tea. And the one who knocked over the bookshelves. And the one who made you fight boogey. And the one who challenged Ethan."

Jack stared in amazement as Sally stood proudly and went on.

"Mister Skellington, if you go down in this, then I'm coming with you. I don't want another boss. I can't _have_ another boss. In case you haven't noticed, I like you. I don't want you to blame yourself. But most of all, I don't want you to give up. Remember this morning, when you told me not to disappoint you? Well, now it's your turn. Don't disappoint _me_."

Jack rose to his feet and stared at Sally for a long time. She began to blush as she realized that she had unceremoniously told him her feelings, and waited in suspense for his answer.

Jack slowly smiled and his eyes twinkled with admiration and pride. He suddenly reached out and hugged her tightly to his chest.

Sally had currently initiated every hug between the two of them, but being hugged by Jack was a totally different experience. Sally tried not to faint from the intoxicating aroma of Jack's cologne.

"Thanks, Sally. That is exactly what I needed to hear."

Sally looked up at his smile and smiled in return. No other words needed to be said between them. She already knew that Jack was back to his old self, determined and ready for action.

"Alright. Let's find those papers." Jack said, reluctantly releasing Sally and taking taking several confident steps forward.

He carefully analyzed his surroundings and tapped his chin in thought as Sally followed expectantly.

"There has to be a simple and easy way to navigate this place... but what is it?" he whispered to himself.

Sally experimentally pushed one of the walls.

"That brother was right about one thing. These hedges sure are thick. I doubt the wind could even blow through this place, the walls are so dense..."

That comment stuck into Jack's mind for some reason. The wind... he felt like he was missing something. Something big, that was right in front of him. But what was it?

And then it hit him. Like a sack of bricks.

"I've got it!" he shouted.

Sally was startled, but asked him what it was he knew.

"Sally, please tell me what the floor of this maze is made up of."

Confused, but intrigued, Sally answered.

"Um... dusty dirt, I guess?"

"Exactly! Now, because the floor is made of soft dirt, we've been leaving footprints all over, no?"

Sally glanced at the path behind them, and sure enough, the ground was littered with footprints.

'Yes, we've been leaving footprints, but what does that have to do with-"

"Hush! Do remember what you said about the wind?"

"Yes." she huffed. "I said that it wouldn't blow through here."

"Precisely, meaning that our footprints would never get erased, because the wind would never blow them away."

Sally rubbed her temples in confusion.

"Where are you going with this, Mister Skellington?"

"You'll see. One last question. Do you remember what those three said to us before they left?"

"They said a lot of things."

"They said that they had this whole place _memorized_. Meaning that they must have traveled this maze at least a thousand times to know all the twists and turns. And yet, have we come across a _single_ footprint while we were in here?"

This grabbed Sally's attention, and piqued her curiosity.

"No, we haven't." She answered honestly. "We should have seen evidence of their travels in here because the wind wouldn't have blown the footprints away."

"You've hit the nail on the head. There should be footprints littering the floor, but there_ aren't_. This means that they had to analyze the maze while also never actually going inside it. How did they do this? The answer is simple." he pointed to the top of one of the walls triumphantly. "They walked along the top of the walls. Never actually getting lost in here while learning the way of the maze."

Sally beamed as Jack laughed.

"The answer was so obvious I never even thought of it! God, am I stupid when I'm depressed!"

"Mister Skellington, you're so cool!" Sally exclaimed happily.

He smiled bashfully and then turned his attention back to the wall, rubbing his hands together. He jumped as high as he could and latched onto the hedge using only his hand strength to hold on. It was difficult to climb the near flat surface, but he eventually reached the top and stood up triumphantly. After helping Sally get up as well, they both stood over the entire maze.

Looking at each other under nothing but the light of the stars, they both smiled at each other and held hands.

Off in the distance Sally spied a small clearing where a tiny ramshackle shack stood alone. She pointed it out to Jack and he nodded to her, both of them running off hand in hand over the walls.

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_Ehheheheheheheheheh they kissed :3_


	9. Chapter 9

Jack and Sally ran off the grounds of the farm or three brothers with big smiles.

Sally couldn't contain her excitement and spread her arms out as they ran, letting out a massive cheer. They had finally done it. They had gotten all the paperwork.

"Yeee! We did it! We did it! We did it, Mister Skellington!"

Jack smiled at her enthusiasm but gave a determined wink.

"We're not out of the fire yet, Sally. We still need to actually fill out all of that paperwork."

Sally grimaced and her arms fell a bit.

"Right... I forgot. Shall we head back to the town hall then?"

"No, it's too far, and probably closed." he said, shaking his head. "There's somewhere else we can go though."

"Where?" she asked.

"My apartment. It's not far."

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Jack and Sally waited patiently as the elevator slowly ascended the various floors. Every so often they would sneak glances at each other and turn away before the other could notice. The one thing that was on both their minds was obvious.

The kiss.

Each recollection of it brought red to their faces. It had been so sudden, so unexpected for both parties. Sally had done it in the heat of the moment to shut Jack up. Jack had not been expecting it at all.

It had been so quick that neither of them could really analyze what it had been like.

Jack distinctly remembered a feeling of indescribable warmth. The warmth was immediately followed by thousands of tiny shocks going into his body. They had spread through him and effectively shut his mind down briefly. It had been over as soon as it started, though. The briefness of it made Jack almost disappointed, now that he reflected on it. The absence of these electric tingles traveling his spine when he kissed Sally put him in a state of insatiable _want_.

Sally was faring no better from her silent corner of the elevator. As she glanced at Jack's brooding face her eyes fell on his lips. Her eyes roamed over their curved glory and she yearned to try kissing them again, only slower this time. The first kiss had felt more like hitting her face against his than kissing, but it had been pretty great nonetheless. Still, she certainly wouldn't refuse a redo.

The intense impulse to lunge at him and claim her territory was almost overwhelming, but she still stopped herself.

They still weren't in the clear yet, and work would have to come before they settled some relationship developments between her and Jack.

Jack's mental debate was similar to hers. While he was interested and eager in continuing his... _research _of the feelings he felt when he kissed Sally, it wasn't the time.

They both came to a silent decision.

_We can talk about the kiss when our job is finished._

They stepped off the elevator and walked into the dim hallway.

Sally was actually slightly surprised by the building Jack was staying in. she had kind of been expecting... more.

Not that it was a total dump, though. It was just that with a fancy title like vice mayor you'd think he was staying in a suite.

"It's not luxurious, I know. I spend most of my money on clothes." Jack admitted.

"It's a lot nicer than my apartment, at any rate. At least yours has a vending machine." she said guiltily.

"Eh, it's not worth it. It only stocks those weird Oreo rip-offs."

"What are those even called?" she said, genuinely curious.

"No idea. New- hoos, I think?"

"At any rate, we should probably get inside and get started. We only have about four hours left to finish these papers." Sally said seriously.

"Right. No more dawdling." Jack said with a nod, pulling the key out of his pocket. He fumbled with the key nervously as he tried to jam it into the lock.

He had realized several moments ago that this was the first girl he had ever actually brought home. Had he left any of his undergarments out? Had he remembered to put the dishes away? In his nervous state he couldn't remember.

Sally was also anxious, twisting her sweater and waiting to be let inside.

He finally unlocked the door and awkwardly stood to the side to usher her in.

"Um, w-welcome to my humble abode."

"Oh, thank you." Sally said as she nervously skipped inside.

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"Oh, _wow_." Sally breathed as she took in Jack's apartment.

It was spacious, with a large living room to walk into and two bedrooms on the left hand side. The living room led into a small but functional kitchen. It was polished to an opulent shine , fitting Jack's tendency to keep things neat. In fact, the whole apartment looked neat. The couch and chairs that were placed tastefully in the bottom left corner of the room were arranged in a perfect U shape around the television. All the knives and pans in the kitchen were hung in neat rows for display.

Jack let out a sigh of relief when he saw that, he had indeed, put the dishes away.

Sally took a step forward, her jaw hanging loosely.

"It- it's so big." she said incredulously.

Jack looked around, unimpressed, and raised an eyebrow. "It is?"

"Compared to my apartment, yeah." Sally said as she gazed at the furniture. "My apartment is like a shoe box compared to yours."

"I'm sure that it only looks that way. I just don't have a lot of stuff to fill the space with."

He was being modest. Her apartment would have fit into Jack's living room and there still would have been space. Not to mention that hers looked like a pig sty. She made a mental note to clean up when she got home.

Her attention was suddenly drawn to one of the far walls and she jogged over to it excitedly. It was covered in little painted fans and cloths and... samurai swords.

"Is all of this stuff...?"

"Yeah." Jack said as he joined her. "I'm really into the Japanese culture and some of my Judo sensei's gave me all sorts of stuff."

Sally carefully pulled a sword off the wall and examined it. "Awesome. Do you actually know how to use these?"

"I do."

Sally stayed silent for a second and then blushed slightly. "Could... could you show me?"

Jack nodded and took the sword from her. He stepped back into the open space and then unsheathed the weapon. Sally waited eagerly and he let out a breath before demonstrating the moves he had been taught. Cutting. Jabbing. Parrying. Slicing.

It was just practiced movement for Jack. For Sally though, it was like watching a dragon in battle.

The way he moved was like fluid. His movements seemed so natural, like the sword was just an extension of his body. It was almost like he was dancing to some unheard melody, twisting and twirling like a swaying snake. Sally watched in awe at this spectacle that was reserved for her alone.

It almost felt like she shouldn't be looking on. This was a dance that was meant for only dragons to see. In that moment, even though she knew it probably already had a title, she named the dance.

_The draconian skeletal waltz._

It just seemed fitting.

Jack finished with a humble bow and sheathed the sword. He glanced up at Sally to see her staring at him like he was an alien from another planet.

Worried that he had done something wrong, he was surprised to see her smile and clap.

"Mister Skellington, every time I think you can't get any cooler you dump some more ice on yourself." she said admiringly.

He blushed bashfully and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Oh, well thank you." he said quietly.

"Don't mention it." she said grinning.

Jack then remembered why they were there in the first place and pulled the papers out of his pockets. He checked to make sure they were all there and walked over to his coffee table. Sally followed him and watched as he spread the papers across the table so he could examine all of them.

Sally joined Jack as he sat crossed legged at the short table and glanced at the paperwork. She winced.

"Yeesh. This isn't going to be easy." she said honestly.

Jack nodded and sifted through everything. "If we work as fast as we can for the next..." he glanced at his watch "... three three and a half hours, we should finish in time."

"You really think we can do it?" she said warily.

"Not really. But we have to try."

Sally nodded and grabbed a loose pen sitting on the table. Jack pulled his own from his pocket and they got to work.

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About an hour in, Jack glanced at Sally.

She hadn't stopped or slowed for a single second, and her eyes looked bloodshot. Her hand looked like it was cramping up. Jack immediately felt bad fro putting her through this. She was certainly going beyond the call of duty.

"Sally." he called softly.

She snapped up to look at him, but her hand didn't stop moving.

"Y-yes?" she said.

"you can sleep, if you want. You look like you could use it."

She shook her head and set her lip defiantly. "No way! I can't leave you to do all this by yourself."

"Sally, we've been running around all day. You must be exhausted." he said sympathetically.

Sally's eyelids were obviously fluttering from the need for rest, and it was apparent that she was fighting to stay awake. She stubbornly refused to sleep, though.

Jack was starting to feel it too. His focus on his work was waning dangerously and his lids kept closing further and further, no matter how much he pinched himself. But he could go without a night's sleep. Sally shouldn't have that taken away from her.

She shook her head again. "No, I'm not tired."

If he wasn't so depraved, Jack would have chuckled at her cute determination. He was so lucky to have such a devoted assistant.

"Fine, Sally. Let's just focus on getting this done."

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At the two hour mark, Jack was fading fast.

Sally had already collapsed on the floor next to him. The pen was still clutched in her hand and faint snores racked her body. She had done well, Jack thought fondly.

He was on the very last piece of paperwork. In the home stretch. His vision was blurring and it was getting harder to think. The thought of sleep was so inviting that he was tempted to just roll over with Sally and go to bed. But he couldn't. He was almost done.

And with an hour and a half to spare.

He just needed to finish off the last paragraph and then he could run down to the IRS office and submit it while Sally slept. He had done it. _They_ had done it. He gazed at Sally's peaceful face with admiration. He held himself back from kissing her cheek.

And _there_, it was done.

Jack gave himself a mighty pat on the back and gathered up the papers into a neat pile. He stared at them in triumph and almost laughed.

No time for that though. He still had to hurry.

Grabbing the pile, he stood up to race out the door.

However, his legs buckled out from underneath him.

He fell onto the floor next to Sally and winced in pain. He tried to lift himself up, but his arms felt to weak.

Every muscle in his body felt sore. Every bone ached. He felt like it was impossible to get up. And slowly but surely the soft carpet lulled him into a half awake-half asleep state. He fought to stay conscious and reached out to the fallen stack of papers. His arm wouldn't make it, though.

As the end approached, Jack's arm fell and his eyes slowly shut. His breathing was slowing and he was entering the world of dreams.

And finally, he fell asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

_Here it is... the last chapter._

_ It's so weird for me to actually say that... I really wrote ten whole chapters. I should get an award. Or at least some cookies. Oh look. Someone left a plate of them right here._

_*munch* *munch* *munch*_

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Jack was awoken by a hand lightly smacking his face.

Slowly opening his eyes, he grunted and ignored it, trying to fall back asleep. The hand brushed his face again and his eyes opened fully to blink in confusion.

First of all, whose hand was touching him?

He had a brief moment of panic. He knew that one of his hands was pinned underneath him and the other was holding something soft. Someone was touching him. Had someone broken into his house? Was he being molested in his sleep?

Then it all came back. The assistant position. The library. The bar. The store. The arcade. The pumpkin patch.

Sally.

Somehow in their slumber the two had ended up intertwined in an odd pretzel of limbs. Sally's hand was looped underneath his armpit and was scratching his face lazily. Her face was mere inches from his and he blushed from the close proximity. She had an odd way of snoring. She took a deep inhale through her nose and let out the air through her mouth in little puffs. It was kind of adorable.

His right leg was under hers. Her left arm was across his chest. Jack was confused as to why he was grabbing something soft, though. He followed his arm as it went under her back to come back up and finally come to her chest where his hand was cupping...

… her left breast.

His face sizzled red hot with embarrassment and he gave a little yelp as he let go. He scrambled to get away and smacked his head on the coffee table in his struggle.

"Ow, Dammit!" he cursed loudly.

He rubbed his sore head as Sally gave a noise of discontent and rolled over. She didn't wake up, but was visibly unhappy that her source of warmth was gone. Jack briefly considered rejoining her, but he needed an aspirin.

He was about to walk into the kitchen when he noticed a stack of papers strewn across the floor. Trotting over to them silently, he picked one of them up and examined it. It was tax paperwork.

With a gasp of horror, Jack remembered. The papers were due _today_.

He quickly looked at his watch. It was 5:45. he had slept for an hour and fifteen minutes. Which meant that they had exactly fifteen minutes to get to the IRS office.

Jack just stood there, mouth agape, for about a minute.

Then he sprung into action.

"Sally!" he screamed as he began desperately sweeping the papers into a pile.

She awoke with a start and flailed about, hitting her head on the coffee table.

"Gaaahhh- the pain!" she screamed.

"No time for that, help me pick these up, we've only got about thirteen minutes left!"

Her eyes widened and she stopped petting her aching skull. She began scooping up papers into her arms, until they had gathered them all. Jack checked to make sure they were all there, and then they sprinted through the door at full speed.

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They ran down the street, arms full of crumpled papers and causing passerby to look on with curiosity.

It must have been an odd sight, seeing a skeletal man in a ragged suit and a tiny girl with a monster sweater running at top speed through the middle of the road. Jack and Sally didn't slow down.

They weaved through people as they ran, occasionally dodging cars and strollers. At one point Jack even vaulted a hot dog cart.

Sally turned to Jack as she jumped over a bench. "How much longer do we have?" she wheezed.

He was in an much worse state then she was. His suit was soaked in sweat and he looked like he was going to pass out. He hadn't gotten nearly as much sleep as she had, and was starting to feel faint.

"A-about f-five minutes..." he choked out breathlessly.

"Where's the office?"

"Just up the s-stree-"

He fell to the ground as his legs gave out out. He couldn't break his fall because he refused to let go of the papers in his hands. Sally winced and ran to his side, worry etched all over her face.

"Oh my god, Mister Skelington, are you all right?!"

He cracked open and eye and tried to smile.

"J-just... fine. I- I think this is the end of my journey, though. I don't know if I can go on."

Sally grabbed his hand. "Don't say that! We're so close!"

He shook his head morosely and sighed. "Sally, it's almost impossible for me to move. Just leave me and deliver the papers. The office is just over there..." he said pointing to a small office on the corner, just ahead.

She frowned determinedly and stuffed the papers down her shirt so she could grab a hold of him. She looped her hand under his armpits and pulled with all her strength to haul him to his feet. Putting his arm over her shoulder, she began to advance forward.

Jack was blown away by the amount of strength she was showing. He was not light, and he could she she was straining.

"There's no way I'm leaving you behind. Now come on, put your back into it!" she said tightly.

Jack nodded and forced his legs to carry him forward, inspired by Sally's will. It was no easy task. His limbs felt like lead.

But for Sally's sake, he ignored the pain and pressed onward.

With their combined effort, they kept racing against the clock to reach the office. It seemed so far to them. Two minutes left.

Sally tripped slightly and cost them several seconds. One minute and forty seconds left.

They had to wait for a car to pass. One minute and twenty seconds.

Jack dropped a paper. Fifty seconds.

They scrambled up the stairs. Thirty five seconds.

The burst through the door. Twenty seconds.

They ran down the hallway. Ten seconds.

Another door. Ten seconds.

There it was. The IRS agent at his desk at the other end of the room. Five seconds.

They put in one last burst of speed and ran across the ridiculously huge room. Three seconds. The agent looked up. Two seconds. Sally and Jack extended their arms forward. One second.

They both slapped the two stacks on the agent's desk and collapsed.

Zero.

They both let out a monumental sigh of relief and rolled onto their backs to stare up at the ceiling. Both of them felt all of the energy leave their bodies and they laid there like two deflated balloons.

The agent checked his watch and nodded solemnly. "Right on time, Mister Skelington. That was cutting it a bit close, though."

Jack just weakly nodded from his place on the floor and Sally blew a strand of hair off her face. The agent carefully organized the papers into a neat pile and retreated to the back room to file them. Jack watched him go and then turned to Sally.

He smiled thankfully at her. "Thank you, Sally. I couldn't have done this without you."

She blushed from his look of admiration and smiled guiltily. "You wouldn't have _needed_ to do this if it wasn't for me." she added.

"True." he chuckled tiredly. "I'm glad I did, though."

"Me too." she agreed.

They both reached out to hold hands and relaxed into the plush carpet. The agent came back out of the back room with a notepad and pen.

"Mister Skelington, I just need you to sign- Wait, Mister Skellington? Hello?"

He looked over the desk hoping to get Jack's attention, but it was pointless. He and Sally were both deeply asleep.

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There was uproar at town hall when Jack and Sally turned up for work about four hours later.

Employees swarmed the two of them, badgering the pair with questions.

"Jack, you've never been late a day in your life, what happened? And why do you look like you've been put through a wood chipper?"

"What's this I've heard about your travels around town yesterday?"

"Who's your cute friend?"

Jack held up his hands for silence and everybody shut up. He put on a commanding yet firm voice and addressed the room.

"Everybody, this is my new assistant, Sally. She's going to be needing a desk in my office, so I want you to go out and find one."

Everybody's eyes turned to Sally, who blushed and hid behind Jack's back.

Somebody raised their voice, unhappy at the lack of answers they were getting. "But what about-"

Jack's eyes flashed dangerously and he snarled menacingly.

"Did I say talk? I thought I said to go find a _desk_."

A fearful shiver went through the crowd and the whining employee took a wary step back. Nobody moved out of fear.

"I said _move it_!" Jack snapped.

The crowd of people went running in all directions like a school of fish spooked by a shark. Sally gazed at Jack's power and respect over his employees. So mature and leader-like. She was still surprised at his ultimate coolness.

It only took several minutes for them to find a desk and have it placed in Jack's office. Some other employees also took the liberty of putting a mug full of pens and a lamp on her new desk. Sally's chair was pulled out for her and she was seated like a queen.

Each employee, under the omniscient eye of Jack, wished her good luck at her new job and then beat a hasty retreat. At last Sally and Jack were left alone.

Jack slowly smiled and walked over to Sally as she rubbed her desk in amazement.

"So." he ventured. "Is it everything you hoped it would be?"

She gave him a little smile but cast her eyes downward. "Yes... it's so nice, but..."

"Is something wrong? You don't have to work in my office if you don't want to." he said with a bit of hurt in his voice.

She looked up in shock and shook her head vigorously. "N-no! Of course not! It's just..." she blushed and looked down again. "... Something else has been on my mind."

Jack knitted his brows and leaned forward.

"What is it?"

She pushed her fingers together and muttered something quietly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you." Jack said.

She looked up with an avid blush and met his eyes. "The kiss."

Jack froze and the blood rushed to his face as he remembered. The feel of her lips. The scent of her hair. The electricity and fire.

"O-oh. Right." he said weakly.

The stared at each other in an intense silence and no words were exchanged. Something needed to be said but neither one of them knew who should speak first. Jack was startled from his thoughts when Sally spoke first.

"D-did you enjoy it?" she asked quickly, then recoiled in fear of what his answer would be.

Jack felt his blush darken and spoke with complete honesty.

"Yes, I did."

Sally's eyes widened and she covered her face with her hands in embarrassment. Jack didn't know how to feel about that. He considered possibly leaving until she felt better. Then Sally's muffled voice came through her hands.

"I'm in love with you." she said quietly.

That simple statement shook Jack to his very core. Love. She loved him. _Him_.

She was trembling slightly, afraid he was going to be disgusted with her and kick her out. She had admitted it. She couldn't help it. It had been dying to get out.

But for god's sake, it had only been a _day_. He couldn't possibly feel the same for her after such a short time. She had blown it. Squandered any chance she had with him because of her damn romanticism.

He hadn't even said a word. He was just staring forward. Sally assumed it was because he was trying not to laugh at her childishness.

But, she was actually far from it. Jack was actually impressed and found it sort of... romantic.

He had always read tales of knights and princesses declaring their love after a day of courtship. And he loved books. And he was always striving to be like a knight.

And then, of course, this was Sally.

His trusted assistant. She was smart. She had his back. They had been through everything. And If he had to admit it, he really found her quite beautiful.

So he was by no means unhappy to hear her declaration. He even came to a slow realization as he stood there.

"I... I suppose I love you as well." he said cautiously, tasting the words on his tongue.

They were just words, but every syllable contained absolute truth. He did love her. He was in love with Sally.

And that brought a silly, crooked smile to his face. He loved her. He loved her. He couldn't stop repeating it to himself in his head.

Sally looked up from her hands and her radiant blush shined like the rising sun. fireworks were going off in her head, and her stomach did a flip. She stood up and walked over to him cautiously, afraid he was just messing with her.

She looked into his eyes and bit her lip. "You... you really mean it?"

He took a moment to look back at her and then spoke again, sure of his words. "I do."

Sally was too embarrassed to look at his face, incredulous of what was happening. Jack loved her. He returned her feelings. She felt a tear roll down her cheek that Jack couldn't see and she wiped it away.

She was too happy for words.

She looked back up at him and smiled shyly. Jack did the same. There was a comfortable silence. Nobody needed to speak. All of the mutual feelings were in buzzing through the air.

Sally blushed slightly and twisted her foot.

"So... does this mean that we can kiss whenever we want to?" she asked.

Jack rubbed his arm and coughed. "I guess so."

Another moment of silence.

"Do... do you want to do it now?"

Jack paused and then nodded slowly. "Um, yeah. I think I do."

Sally blushed and took a step forward to take his hand in hers. "Shall we retreat to that closet then?" she said, pointing to a broom closet.

"Let's." Jack agreed.

And for the rest of the day, anyone who passed by Jack and Sally's office might have sworn that they heard something that sounded suspiciously like kissing inside.

_THE END._

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_ And there we go! That's it! We're clear!_

_ Ahhhh... there is such a feeling of relief when I finish a story... especially one as long as this! To date, this is the longest story I have ever written and completed. I would like to honestly thank you guys for taking the time to read this. I really do. It means so much to open my account and see that someone reviewed, or favorited, or followed my story. I've been going through some depressing thoughts lately and is such a warm and inviting place to go. I'll be back soon with another story, I promise!_

_ Eh- heeba-heeba-heeba-heebada, that's all folks!_


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